The new Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer is filled with tidbits and intriguing clues. Also, there are porgs. But what’s equally intriguing is what we don’t see. There’s a lot that we know is in this movie, but the trailers aren’t revealing.
- The most glaringly MIA characters are C-3PO and R2-D2. Hopefully, they’re not on the Rebellion ships getting blown up. Still, considering Leia kept Artoo and Threepio around, we do have to wonder why they’re not turning up. At a guess, they’re hanging out with Maz Kanata, who’s also not seen, although Maz may only have a minor role to play this time around.
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- We’ve yet to see much of Laura Dern’s Vice Admiral Holdo, who has a connection with Leia and will likely play an important role in both The Last Jedi and Episode IX.
- Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico will also be a key character, and as in the teaser, she doesn’t appear here. Part of that may be due to the fact she’s tied up with Poe and Finn, who are barely in either of the trailers themselves.
- And where are Poe and Finn, exactly? Finn appears to be running some sort of undercover operation. His outfit suggests he’ll be part of the grand tradition of Star Wars heroes beating up Empire henchmen and wearing their uniforms. Poe rockets off in an X-wing during a battle and has an inspiring speech. But we’ve got no idea where they are or what they’re up to.
- Benicio Del Toro’s character is the most mysterious of all. Not only is he not in the trailers, everyone involved in the movie refuses to talk about him. The most we’ve gotten is Rian Johnson calling him “DJ.” Why is Del Toro’s character being kept so deeply under wraps?
- Who’s flying the Falcon? We know it’s in play, not least because Chewie is blowing up TIE Fighters, but is he piloting it alone? Or did he pick up Daisy from Ach-To?
- Heck, we don’t even see much of Captain Phasma, who’s supposed to have more of a role in this film. That said, Finn and Phasma getting into a stick fight surrounded by the burning remains of a First Order base is an awesome shot.
In the end, really this deserves some credit because it’s not a movie we can piece together from a few trailers. There’s simply a lot Rian Johnson and Lucasfilm are keeping under their hats, and we’re clearly going to have to wait for December 15th to find out.