An official synopsis for Star Wars: The Last Jedi teases that fans will discover "age-old mysteries of the Force" and other surprises in Rian Johnson's film. Today was a big day for the galaxy far, far away, as Lucasfilm brought some Episode VIII goodies with them to D23. The studio unveiled a behind-the-scenes sizzle reel that shed more light on Johnson's approach to the material, and a collection of haunting character posters made their way online soon after. Viewers have plenty of new material to obsess over for the next few days as they analyze all that was packed into the featurette, but there's still little known about the actual narrative of the movie.
After the success of the secretive Force Awakens marketing campaign, Lucasfilm is implementing a similar strategy for Last Jedi. The teaser trailer that debuted at Celebration Orlando offered only the tiniest morsels of plot details, and the Vanity Fair spread from May - while offering some clues - was more noteworthy for the posed photos of the cast (meaning, not stills from the film). But now, the curtain has been peeled back ever so slightly, and the first Last Jedi synopsis has been revealed.
Per Making Star Wars, D23 sent out a press release that included the following summary of Episode VIII. It's characteristically cryptic, but nevertheless paints an intriguing picture:
“In Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the Skywalker saga continues as the heroes of The Force Awakens join the galactic legends in an epic adventure that unlocks age-old mysteries of the Force and shocking revelations of the past. Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens in U.S. theaters on December 15, 2017.”
One of the biggest revelations from the Vanity Fair piece was that Luke Skywalker is searching for the first Jedi Temple, which is presumably located on the planet Ahch-To. Canon materials, like the novel Bloodline, have said Luke was on a galaxy-wide quest to discover the "lore of the Jedi," so perhaps whatever lies in the Temple is a critical piece of information Skywalker needs. In the trailer, he mentions that the Force is "so much bigger" than the light and dark sides that have defined the religion throughout the saga, so fans are in for quite a ride in Episode VIII. From the sound of things, Johnson is deconstructing the entire concept of the Force, introducing new angles to explore. Rey will be trained by Luke, but probably not as a Jedi.
As for the "shocking revelations," that remains to be seen. An international promotional leaflet implied The Last Jedi contains one of the most surprising reveals in the series, which could mean a number of things. Rey's lineage is a topic Star Wars 8 will address, so it's possible her family history is not what people expected. The synopsis does note that these secrets are "of the past," so they could be connected to the previous episodes or relate to the 30 years between Return of the Jedi and the sequel trilogy. Whatever the case may be, exciting things await audiences when the film finally opens in December and Rey takes her next step into a larger world.
MORE: Star Wars 8 Character Posters Are Beautiful
Source: Making Star Wars
