The Flickering Myth writing team share their thoughts on the first trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi…
Yesterday at Star Wars Celebration, Lucasfilm unveiled the very first trailer for December’s hugely-anticipated Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and much like the rest of the internet, the team here at Flickering Myth was giddy with excitement! Check out our thoughts here…
Ben Robins: Absolutely ADORE the more sinister tone to the score and the titles/poster, and how little they’re giving away. This was already my most anticipated movie of the year, hands down, but somehow I’m even more hyped now. Shaking in my seat. Physically shaking.
Villordsutch: An extremely well crafted, good looking trailer as The Force Awakens was. For those who follow the lore of Star Wars we know where this is going. It’s going to be interesting to see what other trailers are delivered over the next few months and how they can build on this rather splendid two minutes of footage.
Mike McClelland: Beautiful. It really appears to be fully embracing that blend of science fiction and fantasy that permeates the best Star Wars stories. Also, just like the first Force Awakens trailer, the visual emphasis seems to be on combining familiar visual elements (space battles! gizmos!) with 21st century HD flair (particularly those bright reds and blues). I am so excited.
SEE ALSO: Star Wars: The Last Jedi Teaser Trailer – Questions, Answers, Signs and Symbols
Sean Wilson: Spine tingling. I love how confident they are that they can interweave quintessential Star Wars imagery (love the clever twist on the opening shot) with just a bare minimum of narration to hook us in and show us that this journey will be far darker and with wider implications for the characters. And I got serious chills at the use of Kylo Ren’s theme at a crucial juncture. Bring it. I have to say as well, much as I love the trailer, I love the poster even more. It’s got a beautifully retro Masters of the Universe vibe going on with Rey holding up the lightsaber and the remainder of the image splitting between the light and the dark sides. It shows a real awareness of Star Wars heritage, particularly the beloved 80s fantasy movies that the original trilogy helped influence.
Anghus Houvouras: Yup. That was a Star Wars trailer. Pretty much everything you would expect. Lightsabers, good music, voice over going on and on about the force. I’d like to use my time to focus on the absolute SHAFTING John Boyega got in that trailer. One shot of him in a coma like he’s Sleeping GD Beauty. Hilarious. It looks like they’re giving Finn the Weekend at Bernies treatment. Rey and Luke will use the Force to prop him up like he’s actually alive to fool the First Order for yet unclear reasons. Loads of dramatic possibilities there.
Villordsutch: Stars Wars meets Weekend at Bernies would be a fantastic spin-off Anghus. Pitch it to Disney.
SEE ALSO: Star Wars: The Last Jedi will force Finn to choose a side
James Garcia: I absolutely loved this trailer. The darker more sinister tone is striking and exciting – especially after how much fun TFA was. I love that the majority of the trailer focuses on Rey & Luke, while we get brief glimpses of everyone else and a few cool shots of space battles & AT-ATs. This was already my most anticipated film of the year – and now absolutely nothing will be able to remove it from that spot. December can’t come soon enough.
Andy Naylor: Spine tingling is the perfect description Sean! I loved it. I’ve watched it twice. As any good trailer should be, hints at lots of things, reveals nothing and leaves us gagging for more. The last sentence, I need context!
Sean Wilson: Same! I love the implication we’re to be faced with a more despairing Luke. Should make for a different tone from TFA.
Tom Beasley: It’s brilliant. It doesn’t have the rush of nostalgia that came with the initial teaser for The Force Awakens, but it very neatly poses a teasing series of questions for the new film. The focus on Rey above all else is very welcome and some of the landscapes are absolutely jaw-dropping. We still know almost nothing – and that’s the way it should be.
SEE ALSO: Early reactions to a rough cut of Star Wars: The Last Jedi describe it as “different”
Anghus Houvouras: Glad they’re focusing on Rey. Her and Kylo were the only watchable elements of The Force Awakens.
Eddy Gardiner: Looks exactly the same as The Force Awakens. Which means it looks decent and I’m looking forward to seeing it, but I can wait.
Eric Bay-Anderson: Great teaser – ambiguous, atmospheric, beautiful. Wise decision to have Luke speaking only in voice-over (seeing him speak should ideally be saved for the film). Can’t wait to see how Rian Johnson has made this film his own.
Chris Cooper: Erm. Rather oddly I’m not left amazed by it. It looks cool. There’s a lot to take in. A-Wings! I’ll be there opening night. I know that. So perhaps I’m just not getting into the hype because I don’t need it.
Martin Carr: More meat on the bone than that sixty second trailer which Abrams released for Force Awakens. This has mystery but enough nods to established characters to allow time for narrative Easter eggs. Plus a good use of voice over and fleeting moments of stand out Adam Driver make the trailer worthwhile.
Henry Bevan: Once again, Disney and Lucasfilm are showing how to put together a trailer. As someone who is pretty much ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ when it comes to Star Wars, I wasn’t interested in The Force Awakens until the trailers drop. After Rogue One, I was worried about The Last Jedi, until this trailer dropped. It looks gorgeous, built the right amount of mystery, and Luke’s denouncement is perfect. Goddammit, I’ve been sucked back into the hype. In Rian Johnson I trust.
Scott Watson: 100% Star Wars through and through. Full of teasing shots, dramatic sweeps and much foreboding from Luke. Roll on December cos it can’t come quick enough!!!
Tai Freligh: While it’s not my most anticipated movie of the year (Justice League has that spot), I thoroughly enjoyed that trailer and had goosebumps the entire time. Plenty of signature visuals and operatic music backing up Luke’s voice-over make it exciting to watch. I like the darker, more sinister tone and wonder what led Luke to say that last line of the trailer and how this fits into the title. I can’t wait!
Neil Calloway: I felt underwhelmed, but then I remember excitedly watching and rewatching the trailer for The Phantom Menace that I’d taped onto VHS from MTV, so it’ll probably be a great movie.
SEE ALSO: Star Wars: The Last Jedi will “absolutely address” Rey’s parents
Tony Black: Very mythic and confident in itself. It knows we’re invested. It knows we’ll be there. And it’s happy to just tease as a good teaser should, leave us with plenty of open questions & possibilities. Doesn’t have the fan pleasing power of the TFA teaser but that’s fine – this *should* feel different.
Mark Clark: I’ve decided to join the resistance. The resistance to watching any The Last Jedi trailers. It might be tough going, and okat I watched the first 5 seconds, but The Force is 95% with me. So basically this is not the comment you are looking for…
Ricky Church: I loved it. It’s what a teaser should be – give us a tantalizing hint of what the movie is without revealing too much and leave us wanting more. I really liked the focus on Rey, it makes sense given how well fans responded to her and how they’re grooming her character to shepard the new series. The brief glimpses of action looks great as we see new vehicles on the ground and in space. Nothing indicates the more ominous tone than Luke’s last words in the trailer, showing his possible disillusionment with the Force and the role he’s played in the galaxy. The Last Jedi should be both very good and interesting.
Helen Murdoch: Enjoyed the trailer but I didn’t get goosebumps like I did for Force Awakens.
Luke Owen: Star Wars is a series that doesn’t need to sell itself, so this trailer did exactly what it needed to do: tease. It hints at tone, hints at character, hints at action. A perfectly crafted trailer, even if it didn’t have the ‘OMG’ factor of The Force Awakens.
Rob Kojder: I’m sure there will be another trailer that reveals more of the plot, but really, this right here is how you do a trailer. It tells barely anything about the plot, instead choosing to provide an onslaught of tantalizing visuals (the opening to the trailer is beautiful) and tease action/drama. Also, this new version of the theme is intense. Love the trailer, cannot wait for the movie.
So, there you have our mostly positive thoughts on the trailer for The Last Jedi, but what did you make of it? Let us know in the comments below…
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is set for release on December 15th and sees returning cast members Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata), Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Gwendoline Christie (Captain Phasma), Billie Lourd (Lieutenant Connix), Andy Serkis (Supreme Leader Snoke), Peter Mayhew and Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca), Tim Rose (Admiral Ackbar), Mike Quinn (Nien Nunb), Simon Pegg (Unkar Plutt), and Warwick Davis joined by new additions Jimmy Vee (Pan) as R2-D2, Kelly Marie Tran (Ladies Like Us) as Rose, and Benicio Del Toro (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Laura Dern (Jurassic Park).
Originally published April 15, 2017. Updated November 30, 2022.
