Because GOODNESS, I would never have guessed I’d be so excited! And I love Star Wars, and Force Awakens was amazingsauce, and yet I was still so “hrrrrm” about the anthology movies, until the teaser trailer was released on Friday. And it was so good. And here is why; all the whys, for me, it was great:
Jyn! Omg, tis a woman! I know it’s a low barrier, but heh, women still don’t get half the roles in film never mind half the starring roles, so it was pretty awesome to see another Star Wars movie with a woman in the centre seat. (Sadly, the trailer suggests only one female supporting role, and many male ones, which is rubbish.) Also the actor playing her, Felicity Jones, is older than me. Which shouldn’t be a tricky barrier, but, again, starring roles for women over thirty? Not nearly as many as there should be.
Yavin IV!! Okay, so one the one hand, exciting because this is the New Hope rebel base but, um, I was excited because in Star Wars: The Old Republic, I have a house on Yavin IV. Well, a temple. And the walls? Look just like those walls you see here, to the left of the pic. Just like where I put lovely pot plants and sofas!
Shusht, it delighted me.
“Many Bothans died to bring us this information.”
Mon Mothma! Mon Mothma! This is when I got really yay. There aren’t exactly a lot of non-Leia roles for women in the original trilogy, but the coolest one is easily Mon Mothma, the leader of the rebellion.
And, look, the Bechdel-Wallace test isn’t a test for feminism; it’s like the lowest possible barrier for a piece of media to jump over for women’s representation, and the horrid joke is most can’t even manage that. So while, as a rule, I don’t really care if any particular film passes it or not, I do yay a bit at seeing it passed in the trailer; and the teaser trailer at that. Tis a rare sight indeed.
Oh, yeah, this bit where Jyn is taking down a squad of Stormtroopers. I think I may have clapped, for it was pretty amazing. I cannot WAIT to see the whole scene properly.
A Star Destroyer! Yeah, I get a little whoosh of excitement seeing them. Some people believe the coolest ship in Star Wars is the Millennium Falcon. These people are wrong.
And what is cooler than a Star Destroyer?
A fleet of Star Destroyers! Orbiting a Death Star!
Look at them! With their X-Wing combat suits and smuggler-y outfits and hiding out in a forest garb! YOU LOOK LIKE STAR WARS. (More background women though, please.)
An evil cloak! Cloaks are awesome obv, but evil cloaks are best.
Yes. This is a confrontation that can only end AWESOMELY. And then it did. Space swords for the win!
But what’s better than a cloak of evil? A cloak of evil SWISHING, against a background of fiery destruction.
Imperial Honor Guard! These guys are insanely expensive to buy in The Old Republic (Yes, you can buy them, and then have them guard your Yavin IV temple.) That is because they are the coolest of all the Empire’s troops. I assume this clip means some Sith type action or Emperor appearance.
And then, just to hammer in the sheer shiny goodness, they hit your eyes with the loveliness of an AT-AT attack, in a jungle. And it looks so, so good. And explodey. Oh, AT-ATs, you are the Star Destroyers of the ground.
And the trailer ends with a shot of Jyn in an Imperial uniform. Rebelling against the rebellion, or just a really cool shot?
So, yes, very very happy about the new trailer and new movie.
Lizbeth Myles 