This Year’s Star Wars Celebration in Orlando has wrapped up, and there are so many highlights to cover that it is not enough to mention everything in just a single post! Nevertheless, I think very few will disagree that the most ground breaking of them all was the reveal made by director Rian Johnson during The Last Jedi Panel of Day 2’s SW Celebration last Friday. We now have our first official trailer for Star Wars Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, and with it, comes a slew of reviews, frame-by-frame trailer analysis and a handful of fan theories. The Force is undeniably strong with this sequel, especially that the trailer has been viewed more than 24 million times in just two days. Here’s the official trailer of TLJ in case you’ve missed it.
With so many new images and scenes revealed in the two-minute trailer, one can’t help but think what LEGO has in the works (or perhaps concealed) just before Episode VIII is unleashed in cinemas in December. It is interesting to note that Brickset has initially tagged seven LEGO sets under the Star Wars, The Last Jedi subtheme. Since it is highly unlikely that we will get to see them once the May the 4th promotions kicks in next month, and our best guess for their debut could be sometime August or September, similar to the release dates of the Rogue One sets last year.
So let’s take a look at the trailer once more and allow us to offer our wish list of LEGO Star Wars, The Last Jedi sets that we want to see.
Rey’s Lightsaber Training At Planet Ach-To.
Though Episode VII The Force Awakens only gave a few minutes of screen time for Jedi in-hiding Luke Skywalker, the planet in which he imposed his self-exile was given considerable attention. For reasons not yet fully revealed, Luke has chosen the Planet Ach-To to be his sanctuary, and the training ground to hone Rey’s skills on the use of the Force. It will be a great set to have as well if Kylo Ren and the rest of the Knights of Ren will be added into the mix in a sort of an invading party raid, as rumored from several reports last year.
Kylo Ren’s TIE Fighter.
Alright, I think this one is just keeping up with tradition and was not even hinted in the trailer, but nevertheless, a good one to speculate about. We know that almost all harbinger of bad news in the Star Wars galaxy carries with them a TIE vehicle of their choice. From the lowly TIE Fighter Pilot’s TIE Bomber (4479), Vader’s TIE Advanced (75150), and even the Inquisitor’s TIE Advanced Prototype (75082), it seems that every lead baddie in the SW galaxy favors a TIE Fighter when it comes to a head-on dogfight with Rebel or Resistance forces. So why not give one to Kylo Ren? I know he has done so many unspeakable things in TFA (who can ever forget what he did to his dad, Hans Solo?), but since he plays a major role in this latest Star Wars trilogy, then LEGO would give justice to his character by adding at least one more LEGO set under his belt. As of now, there are only two sets where you can find his minifig version: the LEGO Star Wars Battle on Takodana (75139) and Kylo Ren’s Command Shuttle (75104). A TIE Fighter of his own would be a great addition to his nefarious name.
The First Jedi Temple.
This particular shot from The Last Jedi trailer got the most die-hard Star Wars fans squealing with delight. The collection of tomes, flanked by what seem to be roots from a very ancient tree, is a nod to George Lucas’ original plans of telling the Star Wars saga from the third-person narrative of the immortal scribes, the Whills. Eventually, the idea didn’t take flight and Lucas opted for a straightforward, good ‘ol fashioned storytelling. However, it seems that the idea or concept of the Whills was not completely scraped by Lucas, with Rogue One hinting about it when Chirrut and Baze were introduced as the so called Guardians of… you guess, the Whills.
This is at the very least, suggests that we might possibly see how the very first Jedi Temple looks like. It was suggested in the events of The Force Awakens, when his close friend and brother-at-arms of many years, Hans Solo, confirming the matter at one point. Though Ach-To turns out to be the oceanic planet in which the said temple is rumored to be located, the trailer neither revealed or confirmed it. However, the way director Rian Johnson intended the trailer to feel, and the way it highlighted a very interesting collection of tomes within a tree-like structure, shows that the ‘balance’ Rey is seeking is to be found in this place. If LEGO has slated this to become a set, then this will be a very appealing addition to anyone’s LEGO Star Wars collection. It may well compliment a LEGO Star Wars set dedicated to Rey’s training.
Resistance Skimmer/Speeder.
It seems that each film from the latest Star Wars aftermath trilogy brings with it a collection of new vehicles, whether an original one or a rehash of former starships. This shot from the mineral rich planet of Crait seems to be the battleground for an impending standoff between the Resistance and First Order forces. For lack of a better term or name, these Resistance Skimmers seems to be an odd combination of a pod racer and a Snowspeeder, supported by what seems to be a balancing rod of sorts. The trailer has not revealed their offensive fighting capabilities, but we can safely assume that its speed and maneuverability will be its most outstanding feature. As a mid-sized set, this will be a great addition to our current roster LEGO Star Wars vehicles.
AT-M6.
At the eventual standoff on Crait, we can see the reason why the skimmers are charging head on. Looming on the horizon is a line of intimidating First Order walkers, said to be larger and more menacing than their older cousins. Rumored to be named as the AT-4X, these behemoths were described as ‘gorilla walkers’, with a characteristic arched back design and significantly larger than the AT-ATs of the previous Empire. It has a lot of potential, since the hulking LEGO Star Wars AT-AT (75054) from 2014 has already been retired and we haven’t seen a rehash of this mammoth walker since then. Furthermore, LEGO passed on the opportunity of releasing this one when it was shown again in Rogue One last year. So it’s not far-fetched to consider that LEGO might be reserving its bricks for the AT-4X very soon.
Resistance A-Wing.
The A-Wing has already left an indelible mark on the landscape of the Star Wars saga for being the fastest ship in the Rebel fleet. Since the days of the original trilogy when these iconic starfighters where crucial in the fight against the Empire in Episode VI, it seems that these space speedsters have been commissioned again to take flight once more. Just be sure to hit the pause button fast enough to catch a glimpse of the Resistance’s rebooted A-Wing.
What is particularly interesting about this newer A-Wing is the different color scheme that it offers. For sure, LEGO has placed the A-Wing plenty of times under the limelight with its handful of offerings: 2017’s A-Wing Starfighter (75175), Vader’s TIE Advanced vs A-Wing Starfighter (75150), A-Wing Starfighter (75003) from 2013, and the A-Wing Starfighter (6207) way back from 2006, but this newer iteration has a slimmer, sleeker design as compared to earlier LEGO versions. I know this might be asking too much since we just had an A-Wing recently as a nod to 1983’s Return of the Jedi, however, given the newer design on TLJ’s A-Wing, then perhaps it will not be a long shot to eventually see this as an official LEGO set. Granted that it may not be included yet in the first wave of Episode VIII offerings, LEGO will do well by including this in later sets.
Resistance Frigate.
Our last LEGO Star Wars TLJ candidate (but certainly not the very least) is another galactic sized set, next only to the scale of the AT-4X. These huge, interstellar ships have been a staple of Star Wars movies as part of the legion of starships deployed both by the Empire and the Republic. In this shot, we get to see the same Frigate class starships fleeing from what it seems to be as the planet D’Qar. As of to date, LEGO has only released two sets based on this Frigate class of starships: the Republic Frigate (7964) from 2011, and last year’s Rebel Combat Frigate (75158). Again, our best hint, if ever LEGO decides to come up with a set based on the Resistance’s newer Frigate, is that LEGO might hold on to this a little longer and include these on a later wave of releases.
So, what do you think of our list? Do you have any other The Last Jedi sets in mind that you wish to see in their LEGO forms? Drop us a note in the comments below, or follow our official Facebook page and join in the discussions. Star Wars Episode VIII – The Last Jedi will debut in theaters on December 15, 2017.