The final 'Rise of Skywalker' trailer revealed far more than you think

The final Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer aired during Monday Night Football earlier this week, and whether or not you care about Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, it was a huge moment for Star Wars fans everywhere.

This is Multiverse, a twice-weekly guide to the world of geek culture TV and movies. I’m Corey Plante, and this week we’re flying to a galaxy far, far away to talk about the final Rise of Skywalker trailer. Let’s break down some of the biggest moments and what they’ll mean for the final film in the Skywalker saga, starting with four classic trilogy Easter eggs.

Needless to say, huge spoilers follow for Episode IX.

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That bumbling golden fool is totally going to die

Midway through the trailer, a tiny droidsmith fumbles around in the back of C-3PO’s head, and if that’s not unsettling enough, the anxious protocol droid takes one last look at his “friends” in a way that makes it absolute that he’s going to die. Young Anakin Skywalker built C-3PO many years ago, and even though almost all of the droid’s original friends are already dead, the moment can still bring tears to the eyes of almost any Star Wars fan.

The precise reason why Threepio has to die remains uncertain, but the Resistance probably has an opportunity to reprogram him in a way that proves crucial to the final battle. Is it to translate some secret? Is it to discover some hidden location? There are many theories, but here’s the best examination of this tragedy.

If you’re confused about the tiny alien rummaging about in the back of Threepio’s head, then take this chance to meet Babu Frik.

In one shot from this sequence, as Threepio gazes at his friends, there’s an easy-to-miss look at Keri Russell’s Zorri Bliss in action, offering a big clue about the setting and what role she plays in the film. Read more.

The final lightsaber battle of the Skywalker Saga could happen in a Return of the Jedi setting

The new trailer has plenty of footage from the lightsaber battle we’ve seen in previous photos and trailers, where Rey and Kylo Ren fight on top of the wreckage of a Death Star as the waves crash around them. But we’ve never really known which of the two Death Stars. A new scene, glimpsed later in the final trailer, however, shows them within the ruins. Based on the window, of all things, we may finally know exactly what planet this takes place on. Here’s why.

One possible explanation for why we see Rey and Kylo Ren fighting in several different locations is that their Force connection that began in The Last Jedi has been enhanced in a way that allows them to teleport around the galaxy, fighting in different locations.

Here’s how that could work, along with four other theories the trailer seemingly confirms.

Rey and Kylo Ren destroy Darth Vader’s mask on either Bespin or Kamino

At around the 1:50 mark of the trailer, we see Rey and Kylo Ren in a room where every surface is stark white smashing through some kind of large black statue-like object, and it just might be one of the most important moments shown.

We’ve only ever seen a setting like this in Cloud City on Bespin (where we met Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back) and in the cloning facility on Kamino (which Obi-Wan Kenobi visits in Attack of the Clones), but this could also take place somewhere entirely new. If you watch the sequence frame-by-frame, it looks like Darth Vader’s helmet is sitting atop a black stone column. Why Rey and Kylo Ren would unite in wanting to destroy such an object is mysterious, but we have some ideas. Read more.

Rey has some kind of ancient dagger that’s probably a MacGuffin

Various conflicting rumors have hinted that The Rise of Skywalker might have several “MacGuffins,” the term used for objects like the Death Star plans that serve as a narrative focus for the entire story. One of them that’s been talked about in various leaks and theories is an ancient Sith artifact dagger. In the scene mentioned above, Rey destroys the small Darth Vader monument using her blue lightsaber, but in her off-hand, she’s holding what looks like a stone dagger.

What could this possibly mean for The Rise of Skywalker? It could have ties to Star Wars: The Clone Wars series, and it might even be the key to defeating Palpatine. Here’s why.

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For now, may the Force be with you.

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