With less than a week to go until the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the marketing for J.J. Abrams’ Sequel Trilogy finale seems mostly content to recycle the same footage from past trailers and promos. But while the latest TV spot may not feature a bombshell on the level of, say, Dark Rey or Palpatine’s return, it does include at least one noteworthy “first” for the film’s promotion.
As you’re likely aware, this month’s release will see the return of Leia Organa by way of previously unused footage of Carrie Fisher from the set of her last two Star Wars movies. With such limited content, it’s been less than surprising to see the Original Trilogy star get very little presence in The Rise of Skywalker’s marketing, but in this new TV spot, Fisher’s character finally gets a line of her own.
“Never underestimate a droid,” Leia advises the young Rey directly after a scene of Finn offering some encouragement to his little friend BB-8. Interestingly, outside of this one moment, the TV spot seems to put an unusual amount of emphasis on the droid characters in general and C-3PO in particular.
Even the opening lines go to Anthony Daniels’ character, who reflects on all the team has been through together, before telling R2-D2 that he’s been a real friend (“My best one, in fact.”). What’s more, while 3PO has spent much of the Skywalker Saga as a comic relief figure – and has been fairly passive in the Sequel Trilogy so far – this isn’t the first time the Rise of Skywalker promotion has given a relatively heavy moment to the guy.
With that in mind, many fans are currently worried that 3PO’s story could be headed towards a sad end, but we’ll find out if the marketing is only messing with us when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters on December 20th.
