'Last Jedi' Trailer Fuels Dark Side-Rey Theory Like Never Before
We need to talk about Rey.
After the twists of the new Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer released on Monday, a durable fan theory suddenly feels like it might have gone legit. Will Rey, hero of the Force Awakens, turn to the Dark side of the Force? Before the trailer, fans were worried about Luke Skywalker’s bad attitude about training her as a Jedi. But now everyone is worried about Rey. How much does the evil Supreme Leader Snoke know about her? And does he hold the key to her mysterious parentage?
The new trailer for The Last Jedi began with an ominous voiceover from Snoke, suggesting that he found and trained Kylo Ren. But then it shifts its focus and implies this special and dangerous person isn’t Kylo at all and that maybe Snoke is talking about Rey. To be clear, the trailer never specifically says Snoke found and trained Rey, but it heavily implies he knows a lot about her when he screams “fulfill your destiny!” If Snoke thinks Rey has a specific destiny to fulfill, that means he knows stuff about Rey that the audience doesn’t know yet.
If you’re one of many Star Wars fans who’s been wondering about Rey’s family for the past two years, take a second to consider how hilarious that seems now. The most shadowy character in The Force Awakens — Snoke — has now been revealed to know more about Rey than everyone else; a mystery character is explaining another mystery character. What!? We’re still in the dark as to who the hell Snoke is, and now he’s the key to the other big thing we’ve been wondering about: Rey’s background. It’s frustrating enough to be very funny. So, take a second to laugh.
Will Rey turn to the Dark side?
But what does it mean? If Snoke knows all about Rey’s background then the knee-jerk idea seems to be that Snoke is either her father or somehow connected to her getting stranded on Jakku. If Rey is Snoke’s secret weapon, then every fan who loves the idea of Evil Rey will be thrilled. If Rey turns to the Dark side in The Last Jedi, then everything about The Force Awakens becomes inverted.
Kylo Ren was always Snoke’s second choice, and his first choice for galactic domination is Rey. This kind of Dark side apprentice upgrade is classic Sith: The Emperor upgrades to Anakin after Count Dooku is executed in Revenge of the Sith, Vader tries to get Luke to be his apprentice in The Empire Strikes Back, the Emperor tries to poach Luke and get rid of Vader in Return of the Jedi, and even Kylo Ren tries to recruit Rey in The Force Awakens, screaming, “You need a teacher!”
(Is the secret story of Star Wars all about really talented people being recruited by ruthless headhunters who run corrupt organizations? That’s a big yes.)
This is fine.
Rey turning to the Dark side of the Force also seems likely outside of the Snoke thing. The final shot of the trailer has Kylo Ren offering his hand to Rey in friendship, or, at least, a suggestion of a temporary alliance.
Dang.
Now, this might be some editing trickery, but as of now, the trailer is basically telling us that not one but two Dark side users are into Rey being on their side. Snoke and Kylo’s motivations for recruiting Rey are the missing pieces of the puzzle, which must almost certainly be wrapped up in Luke Skywalker’s fear of her, as seen early in the trailer.
Luke, frightened by raw strength.
Because the greatest Jedi of all time is afraid of Rey now, there’s at least an outside possibility that he thinks she’ll turn to the Dark side.
Even if it happens, will Rey stay evil? Because this is the middle chapter of a new trilogy, Star Wars fans should ready themselves for one possibility: a cliffhanger ending in which Rey says she’s turned to the Dark side, and we have no idea what will happen next.
Watch the full trailer below.
The Last Jedi hits theaters everywhere on December 15.
If you liked this article, check out this video on why C-3PO was the true hero of Star Wars.
