Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker's new teaser has Darth Vader Easter egg

The Dark Side looms large over the newest footage from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

The ninth and final instalment of the Skywalker saga will bring to a close the battle between the Resistance and the First Order, while also bringing the relationship between Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) full circle.

Related: Star Wars Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker won't set up future movies

Rise of Skywalker will find Rey torn between honouring the memory of her late mentor Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and giving in to the destructive influence of Kylo and his Knights of Ren.

This conflict is at the forefront of the movie's newest teaser, which references the franchise's past with the ultimate Easter egg for long-time fans.

Rey with Vader’s helmet

Related: Star Wars' JJ Abrams says Leia's story in Rise of Skywalker didn't really change

In one brief shot, Rey is shown approaching the remains of Darth Vader's helmet with an expression of terror and wonder etched across her face.

At the exact same moment, Luke Skywalker's narration can be heard: "Confronting fear is the destiny of a Jedi. Your destiny."

Check out The Rise of Skywalker's brand new teaser below:

View full post on Instagram

As we know, Rey and Kylo Ren will go on to destroy Vader's helmet in the movie, unless the scene in the final trailer was a Force dream or something similar.

The juxtaposition of Luke's rejection of fear with the invocation of Vader's crumbled helmet certainly seems like a perfect metaphor for Rey's conflict in the movie.

Yet, director JJ Abrams recently insisted that none of the pre-release footage has given Star Wars fans a genuine idea what The Rise of Skywalker is really all about.

"The [trailers] that have come out are scratching the surface of what the movie is," the filmmaker has promised.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has a release date of Thursday, December 19 in the UK and Friday, December 20 in the US.

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Justin Harp

Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.