New Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker clip has a major spoiler in it

News
By published

You may want to tread lightly with this one

(Image credit: Disney)

A new Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker clip just dropped and some people may consider it very, very spoiler-y. Even though this is an official clip, we're gonna go ahead and warn you. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker spoilers ahead. Check out the clip below, as shared on the Star Wars Stuff Twitter account.

In the clip, Kylo's TIE Silencer arrives on an unknown planet in the middle of a lightning storm (how appropriately moody). Kylo approaches a structure, lightsaber out, as Ian McDarmid's voice calls out "At last. My boy." Okay, so we definitely heard Emperor Palpatine's laugh in the other trailers, and we've known he's going to be involved in this somehow. But what happens next is a pretty big indication to his role in this film. 

"I have been every voice you have ever heard inside your head," Palpatine says, shifting between the voices of Supreme Leader Snoke and Darth Vader as he speaks. It looks like Palpatine was the puppet master behind Snoke, the main villain in both The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. Now we know he's been pulling Kylo's strings as well, dragging him deeper into the dark side.

Article continues below

The clip then shifts to John Williams' amazing The Duel of the Fates theme before showing us some quick clips that are a mix of new and old: Rey and crew running from Stormtroopers on the sand planet, the team racing towards a structure on what looks to be the same planet Palpatine is on, Rey and Kylo facing off on that planet, Rey standing in front of a burning TIE Silencer, and more. It's a great clip, promising us a lot of action in the final story in this decades-long saga.

Is it an odd choice to give away that Emperor Palpatine isn't just alive, but actively affecting the universe in this clip? Kind of, as there are some people who may want to go into this film completely devoid of any knowledge of the plot. I however, am a Spoiler Queen, and am totally okay with this.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker drops worldwide on December 20, with select viewings on December 19. Until then, read up on how the movie will introduce new Force powers that will "infuriate some people" according to J.J. Abrams. 

Alyssa Mercante
Alyssa Mercante
Former Features Writer

Alyssa Mercante used to be a features writer at GamesRadar+ and is now a freelance writer and editor. Prior to entering the industry, she got her Masters's degree in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Newcastle University with a dissertation focusing on contemporary indie games. She spends most of her time playing competitive shooters and in-depth RPGs and was recently on a PAX Panel about the best bars in video games. In her spare time Alyssa rescues cats, practices her Italian, and plays soccer.