Today saw the release of another Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker TV spot, with this one including a lot of key new footage, as well as bringing back one of the best pieces of music in SW history, “Duel of the Fates.” Perhaps the most notable thing the teaser shows us though is that we should expect a return visit to a significant location that’s already featured in both prior movies in the Sequel Trilogy.
Jump ahead to the 0:20 second mark in the player above and you’ll find a shot that sees a hooded Rey surrounded by some rocky terrain. This looks a lot like Ahch-To, the planet Luke Skywalker retired to in his bout of self-imposed hermitude following the corruption of his nephew, Kylo Ren. After being introduced in the final moments of The Force Awakens, the world was a major setting for The Last Jedi, but we didn’t necessarily expect it to come back again in Rise.
Rey revisiting Ahch-To, however, makes sense when you consider Luke’s return journey to Dagobah in Return of the Jedi. The twist here is that Luke went back to Yoda in the hopes of continuing his training, only to find the Jedi master on the brink of death. On this occasion, Luke has already become one with the Force and Rey is presumably retreading her steps to take a breather after his noble sacrifice during the Battle of Crait.
But is that all there is to it? The following shot after this one sees Rey standing in front of a burning TIE Fighter. This appears to be on Ahch-To as well. Notice how it closely resembles a promo image for TROS (find it in the gallery above) that features Luke and R2-D2 facing away from a blaze in a similar locale. Could Rey receive a visitation from her late mentor during her trip to Ahch-To?
The answers will be revealed when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker arrives in cinemas at last on December 20th.
