Since 1977, no news has been able to stop the world like news coming from the STAR WARS galaxy. Such an event happened this past weekend, at Disney’s biennial exposition event known as D23.
The bulk of the new news came from the pending release of THE RISE OF SKYWALKER; the 9thepisode in the STAR WARS “Skywalker” saga, poised for release this December. The film promises to end the generation-defining saga which began over 40 years ago; altering the film-industry and the lives of kids and parents everywhere. The first shot across the bow came early in the expo, with the release of this stunning new poster:
And that was just a taste. Although we didn’t get a new, full-blown trailer, we did get a “sizzle reel” which debuted new footage and tied the new film to the legacy of STAR WARS. It begins with John Williams’ incredible new score, which has new variations of the old, favorite tunes. The beginning of the reel was a montage of previous films, from the Original Trilogy to the Prequels, to the first two episodes of the Sequels…all tied together by the voice of Luke (Mark Hamill), re-using his dialogue from the first trailer (HERE), released in April.
The reel then takes us to a shot of the core of the new STAR WARS; Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and Poe (Oscar Isaac). Behind them are legacy characters Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels). What follows next are shots of the General Leia (Carrie Fisher), and some breathtaking shots of a pending battle between the heroic Resistance and the evil First Order.
And then oh-my-gosh it looks like the lovable C-3PO may have gone evil…
All this is capped by a fantastic-looking shot of Rey and the big bad Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), slashing it out amongst crashing waves:
And then boom…a quick shot of a dark-looking Rey with a black cloak and a double-bladed lightsaber with more swinging action…with the voice of the Emperor (reprised by Ian McDiarmid), saying “your journey nears its end”.
What does all this mean? Not much of the storyline was revealed; none at all as a matter of fact. But if the mission of a reel like this is to generate excitement, then mission-accomplished. The footage looks great, and raises more questions than answers. And the callbacks to the prior films form a straight line that has been in the works for decades. As a good friend of Reel Speak said today, this reel had the mile-markers of our lives in once place; all the best of STAR WARS brought together. Masterfully done.
You can watch the reel HERE.
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STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER lands on December 20th.
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