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A week or so ago, in a conference hall in California…
San Diego Comic Con may have only just wrapped up, but the hype has not.
With this hype comes us nerds obsessing over the minutia of every frame of every trailer to anything we like. There were many fabulous trailers and sneak peeks from our favorite franchises. However, one lingers in the minds of geeks and dwellers of the internet everywhere. The Last Jedi: Sizzle Reel.
We may be a little late to analyzing this wonderful video, but with time comes wisdom and we here at Temple of Geek intend to take our own look at the significance of this sizzle reel and what we could glean from it about The Last Jedi.
But first, two things.
If you haven’t seen the sizzle reel go check it out now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye6GCY_vqYk
Second, a moment of silence for the greatest Princess and General in film history. Our eternal respect Carrie Fisher.
Now, let’s break it down.
For our introduction in the video, we get a director’s countdown to action over quick shots of sets and locations. We see what looks to be a large cave, an unfinished set that may be the inside of a spaceship, the huts of Skellig Michael (an island off the coast of Ireland where the last shot of The Force Awakens was shot), a few shots of a life-size Millennium Falcon, and a few brief glimpses of R2-D2, C-3PO, and Chewbacca getting their costumes put on.
Pretty standard stuff so far. The cave set is probably for a scene on the island. Maybe reminiscent of the cave on Dagobah? As for the unfinished set? I would wager it will be used for a few hallway shots inside spaceships on either side of the conflict.
Next we get some of the cast and crew talking about the legacy of Star Wars as we glimpse some more great set and prop shots. Not much we can glean from what they say, but the final lines of the video being spoken by Carrie Fisher herself really brought it together.
We see more of the red sand planet from the first trailer, with both clips being in a trench of sorts that will lead to some great ground level shots. There’s more from the cave set, including a shot where its filled with water and another where Daisy Ridley and Mark Hamill are just chillin’.
One curious shot shows a camera panning along the coast of a Mediterranean coast city. This stuck out to me because the city didn’t look very Star Wars at all. I am left completely stumped as to what this city might be used for in the film.
A great deal of new shots showed the inside of what looks to be a casino where all sorts of different aliens are hanging out. Here we get to see some of the fabulous special effects work on all the different characters and animals. My favorite include an alien that looks like a xenomorph from the Alien movie and an adorable giant horse-fox hybrid we see in what appears to be a stable.
My prediction for the casino set is that wherever it is will be a front for Supreme Commander Snoke’s secret layer or something along those lines.
Speaking of Snoke, while we don’t see any glimpses of him in the sizzle reel, we do see pretty much everyone else. The villainous trio of Kylo Ren, Hux, and Captain Phasma (armor thoroughly scrubbed after falling down the trash suit) are back in all their glory. Granted they only get one quick clip each.
We also see some Stormtroopers wielding electro-staffs. Clearly, they thought if they couldn’t hit something with a blaster they’d try a big stick.
On the side of the heroes, we get so much more. We see Rey training with her lightsaber and running along a scenic coast. Then there’s Finn emerging from his healing pod and in a spiffy new flight suit. Alongside these are shots of Finn with new character, Rose Tico. The most promising of these is when the blast doors open and both Finn and Rose are in New Order officer uniforms. I smell an undercover mission!
We don’t see much of Luke or Poe. However, we do glimpse the former taking his lightsaber from Rey and the latter sitting in his X-wing. As for General Leia, while we see a lot of her in shots, we don’t get to see much of what she’s doing. I feel this is a good move as we should savor every moment she’s on screen in The Last Jedi.
In all, a fantastic behind the scenes look at the next Star Wars film. It understand its legacy and what the viewers want to see without giving everything away.
As a fanboy, nerd, and theorist, I’m going to hazard a guess at the movie’s plot from what we’ve seen here. I predict it will be split into three main storylines. The first will be Rey and Luke’s journey in exploring the Force. The second will be a series of hit-and-runs featuring Poe and General Leia strategizing against the First Order. And the third will be Rose and Finn infiltrating the First Order and attempting to discover Snoke’s secret hideout. It wil all come together at the climax with our heroes converging at the hideout planet for an epic confrontation.
Of course, this is just my speculation. What do you think will happen? Please let us know in the comments section below. And as always…
May the Force be with you.
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