The past 24 hours have been an absolute whirlwind for Star Wars fans, and things are just getting started.
With The Last Jedi‘s full-length trailer now out in the open, the Internet is awash with speculation and far-flung rumors, not to mention some fairly convincing theories drawn from the footage itself. In case you missed it, be sure to have a gander at our own trailer analysis, which cherry-picks eight crucial moments and examines what they could mean for The Last Jedi, the untitled Episode IX, and beyond.
But one thing that most people seemed to have missed was an interesting and no doubt intentional callback to an important moment from the prequel trilogy. Near the start of the new trailer, we see Kylo Ren leading some Flametroopers into a cavern on Crait. If the shot looked familiar, it’s because it should, as it echoes a similar moment from Revenge of the Sith, where we see Anakin and some Clonetroopers heading into the Jedi Temple to execute Order 66.
Don’t believe us? Just check out the gallery below and see for yourself.
This isn’t the only nod to Anakin that’s been discovered, either, as earlier today some eagle eyed fans noticed that the film’s new poster seems to evoke the image of Darth Vader. It’s clear, then, that while the iconic baddie won’t be showing up in The Last Jedi – at least, as far as we know – the Dark Lord’s shadow certainly hangs over the movie. After all, his two children, Luke and Leia, are still fighting the good fight and his grandson, Ben Solo, is attempting to live up to his evil name as Kylo Ren.
Said to balance the “familiar with the unfamiliar” and lay down a new series of rules for this most precious of cinematic universes, Star Wars: The Last Jedi has been penciled in for release on December 15th. It’ll be followed in relatively quick succession by Ron Howard’s Han Solo spinoff, before J.J. Abrams brings the curtain down on Disney’s rebooted trilogy with the release of Episode IX on December 20th, 2019.
