Anybody who has ever enjoyed Sci-Fi undoubtedly saw the action packed new trailer for episode eight of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. This trailer was so insightful, and it makes the viewer long (even more than they already have) for a time machine that can bring him/her to December 15th. The trailer follows a monologue given by Supreme Leader Snoke (played by Andy Serkis) as he presumably either talks to Ray (played by Daisy Ridley), or Kylo Ren (played by Adam Driver). This was a shocking move on director Rian Johnson’s part, as Snoke has been shrouded in mystery since the release of The Force Awakens (episode seven), however, he now feels like a proper character, or at least he will be developed into one in this upcoming installment. Another shocking reveal in the trailer was Kylo Ren supposedly about to fire a missile from his new, sleek starship at his mother, Princess Leia. Of course, we lost Carrie Fisher not to long ago, so her character’s death may seem fitting, however, Fisher finished her scenes for the upcoming installment before her death. Therefore, if she dies in this film, the original script included her death, as there have been no reshoots. Now, it is important to take into account that this whole trailer is utterly misleading; scenes that seem almost completely different are strung together here for dramatic tension. For example, does anyone truly believe that Rey is inclined to join Kylo? It seems unlikely as Disney and Lucasfilm have prided themselves on creating a female idol. That said, there would be an unparalleled uproar from fans if Rey suddenly turned to the dark side, therefore, I find it unlikely. The whole snippet of Leia potentially being murdered also seems like a misdirect, as she is seen alive and well late into the trailer, and, why would Rian Johnson allow a crucial plot point to be shown in the first trailer for the film? Besides these crucial snippets, the rest of the trailer are primarily action scenes, and of course some exploration of Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker. Last time we saw Luke, he stood on cliff speechless, as the camera panned around him; this left many questions open to be answered in this film, and some them have been. We now know Luke is deathly afraid of the force and its powerful wielders, as he is fearful to train Rey. This will be an interesting dynamic to explore, and it is intriguing.
Enough with movies though, what about some TV shows? Friday the thirteenth gave us another awesome sci-fi trailer, this time it’s Netflix’s hit show, Stranger Things. This trailer is the final trailer for the second season, which premiered on October 27th. This trailer was quite revealing; we now know the beloved character, Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown, has been out of the Upside Down (the parallel universe that is a dark image of our world) for quite sometime. However, why she hasn’t met back up with her friends is unknown. Eleven was obviously a fan favorite in the first scene, as she was a driving force, however, it seems as if Will Byers (played by Noah Schnapp) is the driving force in this season. Will, who previously went missing in the Upside Down, is now having visions of a large, tentacled creature in the Upside Down, and, as Sheriff Jim Hopper (played by David Harbour) says, “It’s not fake, it’s happening, and it all leads back to here”. So, all those theorizers who proposed that the Upside Down was merging with Hawkins Indiana, well, you may be right. Furthermore, we get a look at the gang in the Upside Down, somewhere the other kids have never been in the series. We see Mike(played by Finn Wolfhard) , Lucas (played by Caleb Mclaughlin), and Dustin (played by Gaten Mazaratto), with the help of Steve (played by Joe Kerry), investigating something, however what it is is unknown. Nancy (played by Natalia Dyer) and Jonathan (played by Charlie Heaton) seem to be back at it again, also investigating something. This trailer, like the Star Wars trailer, is action packed. We see scenes of the gang arming themselves with automatic rifles, ready to fight. We get a glimpse of what seems like the new leading Doctor at the energy facility after Dr. Brenner’s death.
All in all, both these trailers offered insight into the seasons characters and plots, while also increasing the “hype factor”. There is so much to look forward to!