This article contains potential SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

The first trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker reveals the return of Emperor Palpatine, but it also confirms our suspicions about the birth of Kylo Ren--and exactly who seduced Ben Solo to the dark side of the Force.

Our theory isn't as outlandish or even as speculative as others being made among the Star Wars fandom, especially considering the question of just what form of the Emperor is laughing at the end of the trailer. Instead, we're focusing on the evidence seemingly offered in the trailer itself. There was always something that didn't add up about the idea of Supreme Leader Snoke somehow playing a more convincing mentor than Luke Skywalker.

Luke played a role in chasing his nephew Ben into the arms of the First Order, without question. But with Star Wars 9 revealing what still lives on Endor's moon... Kylo Ren's fall suddenly makes perfect sense.

The Movies Claim Snoke Seduced Ben Solo

Kylo Ren and Snoke in Star Wars The Last Jedi

Any strength in the argument that "Ben Solo was seduced to the Dark Side by Supreme Leader Snoke" completely evaporated when Snoke made his first appearance. A great pupil is a reflection of a great mentor, so Kylo Ren's status when the audience meets him--emotionally out of control, overcome with rage, internally torn, and unable to master his Force power with any finesse, just raw anger--is all the proof needed to say Snoke is a Terrible master. A gifted manipulator, and wields verbal, emotional, and physical violence as good as any tyrant. But compared to even the worst Sith Lords, the idea of him "persuading" Ben Solo to do anything always felt... well, like part of the story was missing.

RELATED: Star Wars 9 Theory: Palpatine Was Darth Plagueis

The films themselves offered more than one explanation, both in the movie and offered in expanded universe fiction (comics, novels, and TV shows). The fact that Kylo Ren had Darth Vader's helmet in his possession was a more convincing notion on its own--suggesting that just like in the comics, the Sith helmet was possessed by Dark Side energy, which would hold Kylo back from the light better than Snoke's barked orders ever could. And with The Last Jedi revealing Luke's betrayal, perhaps Ben was simply running for his life to the nearest Force sensitive who would oppose him. Thankfully, the trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has ended the questions.

Star Wars 9 Reveals The Truth?

Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker Trailer - Death Star

The true significance of the moment may be lost in the overall rush of new Star Wars footage, but fans will want to absorb it. We're referring to the final shot of the trailer revealing Rey, Finn, and Poe approaching the grassy cliffs overlooking a roiling sea. And marking that sea from the waves to the clouds is the unmistakable dish of the second Death Star, destroyed in the orbit of Endor's forest moon. Which means the sea, like the heroes, are all but certainly located on the surface of that very moon.

Just as the tomb of Emperor Palpatine comes into view--the final resting place of whatever remained following his explosive death at Darth Vader's hands--the screen cuts to black, with only the Emperor's disembodied laughter echoing. In the process, giving the final clue we needed to understand what had REALLY caused the fall of Ben Solo... and Kylo Ren's true master, even if he doesn't realize it himself.

Page 2 of 2: How We Know The Emperor Seduced Ben Solo

Vader's Helmet Puts Kylo Ren on Endor, Too

Assuming that the facts are what they appear to be, the reveals or suppositions seem clear enough: the heroes return to Endor in search of some final objective, locate the remains of the second Death Star where Palpatine died, and encounter (in some form) what remains of his spirit or Force Ghost. The specifics can't and shouldn't be guessed at for fear of spoilers, but those steps alone help Kylo Ren's story come into focus. After all, the heroes are retracing the steps he would have to have taken to recover the partially melted helmet of Darth Vader, burned along with his body on a funeral pyre by Luke in Episode VI's final scenes.

So if the heroes encounter what remains of Emperor Palpatine... it's a safe bet that Ben Solo would have, as well. And if he did, there was no way the Emperor would let an opportunity like that pass him by

RELATED: Star Wars 9 Can Address Return of the Jedi's Dumbest Moment

From here fans can use their imagination to add color and drama to the seduction and fall that soon followed. Just as Sheev Palpatine had identified Anakin Skywalker's need for a father, a friend, a confidant, and a tempting voice inside his head, Ben Solo would have embodied the same (made all the more tragic by the fact that Luke effectively chased him into Palpatine's arms). And even if Snoke soon filled the role as the commander pointing Kylo Ren's anger, hate, and aggression towards enemies to kill, it was Palpatine urging his heart and mind to descend further into the Dark Side.

If true, then Kylo Ren became more like his grandfather than anyone expected. And just as sadly, Luke Skywalker followed in Obi-Wan Kenobi's footsteps... all the way to ruin and betrayal for another generation.

The Emperor Couldn't Pass Up Another Skywalker

Emperor Palpatine Star Wars Rise of the Skywalker SR

This is still all speculation on our part, at least until Star Wars 9 finally ends the Skywalker story and hopefully confirms or disproves our reading of the evidence. Even so, we hope fans will see that our connecting of the dots seems the simplest, based on the confirmed movements of Palpatine, Vader, Ben Solo, and now the movie's Resistance heroes. If our theory proves accurate, then Emperor Palpatine's seduction and corruption of a second generation if Skywalker will have finally been achieved. However, Luke was able to resist his hate and anger... and even if he's become one with the Force, he's not out of the picture yet.

Will it be too late for Kylo Ren to be saved, and Ben Solo return to the light, just as his grandfather managed before his own death in Return of the Jedi? Only time will tell if The Rise of Skywalker will include the last of the family line, or be a symbolic tribute to all of the Fallen Skywalkers--Ben Solo included.

MORE: Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker Hides a Secret Joke in Its Poster

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