Does The New ‘Star Wars’ Trailer Actually Spoil Anything?

Star Wars fans finally got what they’ve been waiting for last night, but there are still some who have yet to buy into the experience. Star Wars: The Last Jedi got a new trailer after months of waiting, but one tweet from Rian Johnson made plenty of fans swear off the footage. After all, the director did appear to hint the clip would have spoilers for the film though he later clarified the claim.

A day later, there are those who are still eyeing the trailer’s thumbnail on Youtube wondering if they should watch it or not. So, does the trailer really contain spoilers? Well, yes – but they are not as big as you might think.

Lucasfilm is no newbie when it comes to crafting a trailer, and the studio isn’t about to give all its plot-points for The Last Jedi away in a minute or two. If you’ve seen the trailer, then you know much of its dramatic pauses and revelations are created by well-timed editing. The art of misdirection is strong with the Star Wars trailer, and its high-octane action doesn’t give fans time to piece any of its scenes together. Theorists will love this kind of video, so fans may want to don a tin foil hat before watching the trailer.

But, when it comes to hard spoilers, the trailer does have a few. Any new footage will bring them about, the the reel for The Last Jedi has lots of new clips.

If there’s one thing the new trailer does spoil for fans, it is the characterizations of Luke Skywalker and Snoke. The pair were kept from the light in The Force Awakens, leaving fans to wonder how the sequel would bring them to audiences. The trailer features the duo enough to get a sense of their temperament, and the two did shock fans.

For those of you who’ve seen the trailer, then you know Luke is a hollowed version of his former self. The Jedi is seen in exile when Rey approaches him, but Luke does not appear keen on helping the heroine. After the girl asks for his mentorship and shows her power, Luke says he knows better now and fears the potential she has. The trailer confirms the Jedi is comparing Rey’s strength to Ben Solo before he adopted the name Kylo Ren.

As for Snoke, the mysterious Supreme Leader is seen in the flesh for the first time. The villain can be heard in a voice over telling someone he saw “raw, untapped power” when he found them. The trailer then ends with a shot of Snoke appearing to torture Rey using the Force, leaving fans to wonder if the villain’s earlier monologue was directed to the heroine or Kylo Ren.

The trailer shows a slew of others characters from Leia to Poe and even the franchise’s adorable Porgs. It’s difficult to say whether the trailer did drop conclusive spoilers on fans, but audiences should know better about Lucasfilm than to assume the worst. The company is more than capable of mind-tricking a few million fans with a clever trailer edit if need be. So, when The Last Jedi debuts this winter, fans will learn if they were hoodwinked or not.

The Last Jedi lands in theaters on December 15.