Over the weekend,Star Warsfans were finally given the gift they’ve been wanting in the form of the very first teaser trailer forThe Last Jedi. While some have expressed vague disappointment in the teaser, the general consensus has been excitement. For those who may have felt a little underwhelmed, there is an explanation;Star Wars: The Last Jedipretty much has the same trailer asStar Wars: The Force Awakens.
You may be thinking, “What? No they are not the same!” But thanks to some detailed analyzation of the two trailers by YouTuberJames Van Fleet, it is clear that there are a lot of similarities. This isn’t so much trying to say that theThe Last Jedi trailerlooks exactly like the trailer forThe Force Awakens, but more that it hits the exact same beats. It should be noted that the comparison is being made to the second trailer forStar Wars: The Force Awakensand not the first, very brief teaser. Here is whatJames Van Fleethad to say about his observations in the description provided for the video.
“If the Last Jedi teaser trailer feels familiar to you, that’s because it has the exact same rhythm, sound cues, and many of the same image beats of the globe-smashingForce Awakens Teaser#2 (with a quick opening BOO! moment borrowed from the Force Awakens Teaser #1). Lucasfilm/Disney has figured out how to make a “Star Wars” trailer, and they are sticking like hell to that formula. (And honestly, why shouldn’t they?)”
In order to prove his point, the video goes through the trailersframe by frameand, using a handy sidebar that lists the beats of each trailer, shows that these trailers both carry the same formula. For example, both theStar Wars Episode VIIandStar Wars Episode VIIItrailers open with landscapes and a shot of Rey, which is followed by the “Twin Suns” theme and some narration from Luke Skywalker. Both trailers then have a callback to Darth Vader, some more narration from Luke and then a callback toR2-D2. It goes on like this.
So, even though theStar Wars: The Last Jeditrailer looks very different, it probably feels very much the same, even if you might not have realized it until now. It is hard to say if this was intentionally done by Lucasfilm, or if it was just anodd coincidence, but it would be tough to blame them for wanting to use the same formula that brought so much success withStar Wars: The Force Awakens. The movie did wind up grossing more than $2 billion worldwide. Why attempt to fix something that isn’t broken?
Star Wars 8starsDaisy Ridley,John Boyega,Adam Driver,Domhnall Gleeson,Oscar Isaac,Benicio Del Toro,Laura Dern,Gwendoline Christie,Andy Serkis,Lupita Nyong’O,Carrie FisherandMark Hamill.Star Wars: The Last Jediis written and directed byRian Johnsonand is set for release on December 15. Be sure to check out the video comparing the two trailers for yourself below.
