【OKASANNOANARU-02】

Star Wars,OKASANNOANARU-02 having reached the end of its Skywalker saga, still has the power to surprise us.

That was the headline out of Star Wars Celebration Chicago, where the first trailer for what we must now call Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalkerdropped in front of a packed arena of stunned and delighted fans.

The first and biggest question that even hardcore fans were asking themselves: what's up with that title? Didn't we just see the death of the only remaining character to use the name, Luke Skywalker, at the end of The Last Jedi?

Fans who reach for the simple explanation -- that Rey is actually Rey Skywalker, and therefore Kylo Ren was lying when he said her parents were junk traders who sold her for drinking money -- need to remember that Abrams is the master of misdirection.

There are so many other, less vanilla explanations for the title. It could mean redemption is in the offing for Kylo Ren, a Skywalker on his mother's side. It could also mean that Force Ghost Luke -- whom we already knew would appear in the movie, but his voice appearing at the start of the trailer seals the deal -- officially adopts his protégé Rey.

Leaving aside the question of whether a ghost can legally adopt in the Galaxy Far Far Away, that seems a rather limited and unsatisfying end to the saga.

More likely is the newly minted fan theory that "Skywalker" will emerge as the name of a new mystical order to replace the Jedi.

We're all Skywalkers now, basically.

Emperor Forever

Next up in the list of WTF moments: Was that really Emperor Palpatine's voice cackling at the end of the trailer? Indeed it was, confirmed by the fact that Iain McDiarmid -- the Emperor himself -- appeared on stage after the trailer screened.

But does that mean the Emperor returns in the film, having somehow survived (or been cloned after) his death plunge down the shaft of Death Star II in Return of the Jedi?

Not necessarily. Remember, Rey appears to be a magnet for Force visions. In The Force Awakens, her lightsaber-inspired vision already included the Emperor's voice alongside Obi-Wan's and Yoda's.

We've yet to see a Sith live on after death -- the way Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Yoda and now Luke were all able to do. But that doesn't mean the Emperor's spirit did not survive in some form.

The Retirement Home for Force Beings in the great beyond is more powerful than you could possibly imagine.

The Emperor's legacy certainly has a role to play in the movie. A quick shot of Rey, Finn and Poe standing on a planet with the wreckage of the Death Star in the distance -- it looks more like the first Death Star from the original movie than the second from Return of the Jedi -- suggests that the movie will delve deep into a past full of Imperial secrets. Perhaps something needs to be retrieved, or destroyed, from one of those moons of Yavin.

Elsewhere, the trailer gave us a succession of images designed to make even the most jaded fans leap from their seat. First and foremost was Rey's (literally) head-spinning attack on a modified TIE fighter -- probably Kylo Ren's -- that was acting more like a landspeeder on a desert planet.

General Leia will be back in this movie, of course. We've known for some time that Abrams was posthumously rescuing Carrie Fisher footage from the cutting room floor of The Force Awakensand The Last Jedi. He also explained that he wrote some scenes specifically around her chunks of unused dialogue.

But we still had no idea what that meant exactly -- would Leia appear on a screen somewhere, perhaps? No. She's there in the movie, bringing Rey in for a deep and meaningful hug.

If you don't cry at the sight of this, then you're probably too far gone on the Dark Side already.

Speaking of heartfelt nostalgia, The Rise of Skywalkersees Billy Dee Williams' long-awaited on-screen return to the role of Lando.

Not only is Williams kitted out in the exact space-cape-and-gold-top combo that Donald Glover rocked as young Lando in Solo --he's back at the helm of his beloved ship, the Millennium Falcon.

As befits the third film in any Star Wars trilogy, there are a lot of Return of the Jedi-esque moments here. Abrams confirmed that the whole new gang -- Rey, Poe, Finn, Rose, et al -- head out on a new adventure together, much as Leia, Luke, and Lando returned to Tatooine together to rescue Han from Jabba the Hutt.

With just this brief shot on an unnamed desert world, Abrams has managed to evoke the spirit of the Jabba sail barge battle.

Of course, as the light side rises, so does the Dark. Kylo Ren, whom we last saw assuming command as Supreme Leader of the First Order, is back and looking more badass than ever.

Here the Supreme Leader once again leads his troops into battle, wielding that iconic janky red Sith fanboy lightsaber of his.

Sorry, Reylo fans: Daisy Ridley has confirmed that Kylo Ren will not be seen "half naked" in this film as he was in The Last Jedi.

Nor will Kylo be helmeted for much of the film, as you can see above, although there does appear to be a brief shot of him fixing his helmet -- the helmet he smashed to pieces after his late master, Snoke, called ridiculous.

Abrams knows that we'll be picking apart trailer clues for months (Rise of Skywalkerdoesn't hit theaters until December 20, 2019). And he's certainly given us plenty to chew on in these brief shots.

For example, what is the full significance of this medal? Yes, it's one of those Yavin Throne Room medals dished out to everyone but Chewbacca at the end of the original Star Wars. Presumably, that is Leia holding it. But is she mourning the loss of Han or Luke, or both?

We'll find out more as this summer and fall unfolds. This is far from the last Rise of Skywalkertrailer we're going to see. There's still new mystery character Jana (Naomi Ackie) to introduce, we have to catch up with Rose (Kelly Marie Tran), and new droid D-O awaits his BB-8-style hero moment.

"The" Skywalker, whoever he or she or they are, will rise. Based on this brief outing, the Force is already with them.