Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Final Trailer Breakdown - 14 Things Fans Need To See
8. A Star Destroyer Rises
Lucasfilm
If there's one thing this trailer telegraphs, it's that the past will have a heavy part to play in The Rise of Skywalker. The Emperor has seemingly returned, and this shot of an old Imperial Star Destroyer rising from the ice seems to intimate that the old Empire may have a part to play.
We still don't know where the Knights of Ren have disappeared to, but recent chatter has indicated that they may be more autonomous than their name suggests. Could it be that they've been playing the Emperor's long game all along, and that the return of the old fleet has a part to play?
It's a wild theory to suggest, but given the trailer shows the Resistance principally clashing with the old Imperial fleet rather than the First Order's, but could it be possible that the First Order suffers a challenge from another angle? One they didn't expect?
It makes for a brilliant visual, and the return of those old Imperial Star Destroyers will no doubt play a major part in the story.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
