First Order Stormtroopers go full Rocketeer in first Rise of Skywalker clip

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

With less than a month to go before STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER drops out of hyperspace, the marketing campaign is attacking audiences harder than Red Squadron on the first Death Star. JoBlo already brought you a retrospective on the Skywalker saga earlier this morning and now audiences have their first full movie clip to feast on.

The movie clip above focuses on a scene we've already seen previously in the trailers, namely Rey, Finn, Poe, C3PO, and Chewie escaping from some First Order Stormtroopers. However, as exciting as the landspeeder race is, what's of particular interest to me (and other STAR WARS fans I'm presuming) is a new tactical feature for this particular bunch of Stormtroopers. To quote Poe, "They fly now." That's right. It appears as if these Stormtroopers are huge fans of director Joe Johnston's 1991 Disney flick THE ROCKETEER (as is JoBlo's own Chris Bumbray) as they possess jetpacks. Before you guys all lose your minds in the comment section though, it's important to note that jetpacks have appeared multiple times in STAR WARS, most notably with Boba and Jango Fett.

While we obviously don't know the context of how or why our heroes are escaping these First Order troops, the sequence looks decidedly thrilling. Virtually all STAR WARS movies have some version of a "car chase" whether it's the landspeeder sequence in RETURN OF THE JEDI or the pod races in THE PHANTOM MENACE. Creator George Lucas is a huge car person and the cruising culture of the late 50s/early 60s played a large role in his formative years. Hell the guy made a whole movie about it with 1973's AMERICAN GRAFFITI. It's nice to see J.J. Abrams carrying on that tradition here.

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER starring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill storms its way into theaters December 20.