Spoilery Details About That New ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Trailer

ScreenCrush’s WookieeLeaks is a weekly roundup of everything Star Wars! From The Force Awakens, to the upcoming spinoffs and the TV shows, if it pertains to that long ago, far away galaxy, we’re covering it here, bringing you our expert analysis. This week, tear apart the latest teaser footage, learn the alignment of a new Rogue One character, and a tease the Battle of Jakku.

Let’s Stripmine That 15-Second Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer

If you felt the world shake yesterday, don’t worry. That was just the arrival of new footage from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. You’ve probably seen it by now – 15 new seconds, presumably a teaser for a new trailer, debuted on Instagram. If you happened to miss it, you can check it out below:

That’s about as nifty as a 15-second snippet of footage can get, particularly that final shot of John Boyega firing up a lightsaber. You can let your imagination run wild with that ... or you can follow us down a Sarlacc Pit of speculation and spoilers. Using known plot points and educated speculation we can (and will) tear this tiny teaser apart and extract any and all juicy knowledge. If you don’t want spoilers, go ahead and scroll to the next section. Wee aren’t taking prisoners after this sentence.

First of all, note that the voice over (“There has been an awakening...”) from Andy Serkis’ Supreme Leader Snoke is different than the take that was used in the first trailer. It’s less theatrical and a little more conversational, which leads us to believe that this is the version that will make it into the final movie. We wouldn’t be surprised if the other voice over was recorded separately for the trailer, allowing the dialogue to exist outside of its actual context.

Lucasfilm

Here’s the first of three new shots glimpsed in the footage. That man at the front of the platform is General Hux (Domhnall Gleason) and he’s addressing members of the First Order. We’d put good money on this location being Starkiller Base, the home of the First Order’s new secret weapon of mass destruction, and that it is about to be revealed (or even used) for the first time.

Lucasfilm

Speaking of weapons being used, here is Rey (Daisy Ridley) looking at the sky with great concern. Could she be witnessing the weapon in action as it decimates something? Maybe the Resistance fleet? We can’t say for sure where she is in this scene, but the lack of snow indicates that this isn’t from the film’s final act. This could be the planet that is home to castle fortress of Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong’o), which is supposedly destroyed by the First Order’s weapon. Hmm...

Lucasfilm

And here is a the big shot, taken from the big, action-packed finale. And we’re going to give out one last MAJOR SPOILER WARNING because we really mean it.

Seriously.

Anyway, while Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and his X-Wing squadron battle the First Order pilots above the Starkiller base, Finn (John Boyega) pursues Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) into the woods, Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber in his hand and vengeance on his mind ... because Kylo Ren has just murdered Han Solo and our young hero isn’t going to let him escape without a fight.

While we’re on the subject of spoilers, let’s slip one more into this section for good measure. We knew that Star Wars: The Force Awakens filmed on the gorgeous Irish island of Skellig-Michael and we knew that the production would return there for Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: Episode 8. But according to some new reporting/rumor-mongering, it looks like the final scenes of The Force Awakens take place on this island, which means that the next episode may literally pick up where the last one ended. It’s been heavily rumored that the tranquil Skellig-Michael represents the home of the living-in-self-imposed-isolation Luke Skywalker and that the next movie concludes with Rey journeying there to train as a Jedi. So Star Wars: Episode 8 could take on the traits of The Empire Strikes Back, with rolling Irish hills standing in for the swamps of Dagobah.

Mads Mikkelsen and Star Wars: Rogue One

When it was revealed that Hannibal and Casino Royale star Mads Mikkelsen was joining the cast of Star Wars: Rogue One (or Rogue One: A Star Wars Story or whatever they’re calling it now), everyone immediately jumped to one conclusion – the sleepy-eyed Danish actor was playing a villain. After all, that’s what Mikkelsen does. He plays villains. And he plays really good villains.

But not so fast! In a new interview (translated below), Mikkelsen revealed that he is taking on a rare good guy role:

On IMDB your name is listed just after Felicity Jones. It suggests that it is a great role. Is it a big role?
I have not actually noticed that. It is probably because the other might not have come on the list yet [smiles].
But is it a big or a small role?
It is a very important role, as much I can say.
Are you the bad guy?
No, my character is actually not a bad guy, and then I can not say more.
I can also say that the movie will be shot in Iceland and England. And the filming will last for three months.

So there you have it. Star Wars has gone and made the most inherently villainous actor working today into good guy. Rogue One, you’re crazy.

First Look at the Battle of Jakku

Here’s what we know about the Battle of Jakku.

After the death of Emperor Palpatine and the destruction of the second Death Star, Imperial troops and Rebel soldiers engaged in a massive battle over and on the desert planet of Jakku. The Imperial remnants were entrenched. It was a costly battle. The resulting wreckage littered the planet, allowing the trailers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens to feature beautiful shots of long-crashed Star Destroyers.

This engagement will the subject of a level in the Star Wars: Battlefront video game and EA has gone ahead and released two pieces of concept art showing off the battle: