Five Questions from the 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' Teaser!

Speculation and Star Wars run almost hand-and-hand whenever there's even the slightest tease at a project associated with the space-age franchise. Even before us fans see any ounce of footage, we sprawl across the chat forums to speculate just what may go down in the latest new creation from Disney and Lucasfilm. To no surprise, it seems we've reached that holy point in the year once again, when people from across the globe settle in to talk all things Star Wars. With the first teaser trailer for this December's epic new chapter in the Star Wars saga, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, revealing itself at Star Wars Celebration in Orlando, Florida today, the speculation as to what could go down in the upcoming Episode VIII is slowly beginning to build. With questions of Mark Hamill's involvement in the film as an exiled Luke Skywalker to Daisy Ridley's Rey and her mysterious heritage, our first peek at The Last Jedi offers plenty to discuss. In order to keep myself at bay as I, for a lack of better terms, fangirl over this trailer for the next eight months, here are five essential questions I have about the upcoming chapter: 

Will Rey join the Dark Side? - Obviously a now vital member to the Star Wars lore, Daisy Ridley's breakout turn as the inquisitive scavenger Rey that made 2015's The Force Awakens such as success most definitely plays into the central story of The Last Jedi. When we last saw her character, she had embarked towards the planet of Ahch-To in search of an exiled Luke Skywalker, after unearthing her true potential as a Force wielder. A prominent part of the new teaser shows her in a Luke Skywalker-esque role similar his role in The Empire Strikes Back, wanting to learn the ways of the Force under the teaching of a wise master. What has me on the fence however, is the question of just what side of the Force spectrum Rey might end up on. Yes, while we might see her training with Luke like he once did with Master Yoda, there remains the possibility of her losing her way similar to Kylo Ren, betraying Luke in favor of the Dark Side.

Has Luke lost faith in the Jedi? - The first question of whether or not Rey will be a Jedi or fall to the temptations of the Dark Side play heavily into my next question, which pertains for the most part to Luke Skywalker's own mentality after being in exile for six years. With the teaser hinting heavily at Luke's willingness to believe the Jedi are done for, it seems like he's implying that Rey could be a lost cause for him to train. Weary after being betrayed by Adam Driver's Kylo Ren, there still remains the possibility of Luke being the singular "last Jedi", as his broken state prevents him from taking up Rey as a student. 

Is Carrie Fisher's role more pivotal than we thought? - Another question that spawned from the trailer was one concerning Carrie Fisher's General Leia, more exclusively her role in the coming Star Wars films. With the untimely death of Fisher last year bringing up questions as to where her character would go next in Episodes VIII and IX, director Rian Johnson has said that her character plays a pretty pivotal role in Episode VIII. How pivotal? That remains the question. With the teaser offering us a slight peek at Fisher at the center of the Resistance as lead general, also calling back to her role in A New Hope via a distant voice-over, it still remains a mystery just how her character will evolve in the next few films. That being said, her vital connection with Luke and the Force, as well as the impact of Harrison Ford's Han Solo's death on her character, could make for some interesting realizations.  

What's up with Finn? - Another fan-favorite character to come out of 2015's The Force Awakens was John Boyega's ex-Stormtrooper Finn. With that film leaving Boyega's charismatic traitor unconscious and pretty badly scarred, his fate remains seemingly unknown in The Last Jedi. While behind the scenes images might show Finn healthy and well, there still remains questions of how his character will play into the new story. One piece of evidence, however, as revealed by Rian Johnson, points to newcomer Kelly Marie Tran's character joining forces with Finn in the film, as Tran's Resistance worker elevates to one of the film's newest heroes. 

Could Yoda, Obi-Wan, or Darth Vader return? - One of the biggest questions I had from the teaser had to be whether or not a handful of characters from the past would return. Three in particular include Master Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker. With the teaser hinting heavily at both Obi-Wan and Yoda's influence on Rey's journey to become a Jedi, it wouldn't be completely out of place for the two to appear in either subtle voice cameos, or more interestingly, as Force ghosts. One scene in particular, the last shot of Luke sprawling out a premonition of the end of the Jedi, would be the perfect place for prominent figures of his past to appear. Even more intriguing would be the return of his father, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, and possibly the return of Hayden Christensen.

While some of these questions might seem sporadic or over-ambitious, these are just a handful of quarries I had from our cryptic first look at December's The Last Jedi. From the mysterious fates of Luke Skywalker, Rey, and Finn to the possible return of fan-favorite characters of the saga, the Star Wars franchise continues to spark speculation as we embark further into a galaxy far, far away.

What questions do you have from the first teaser trailer for Episode VIII? Who do you think the "last Jedi" is? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below!