As the final batch of trailers have been released for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, there's one image that both the domestic and Asian releases have seemed to focus on. With Daisy Ridley's Rey sobbing over what looks like a dead body, we have to wonder – who, or what, is she crying about?
We'd like to start with a little bit of background, so please take a look at the screen grab from the trailer below:
Taking a closer look at this frame, we see can see Rey huddled over a vague shape as she's crying. Some sort of massive light is shining down on her, and whatever is in front of her does not look like it's moving – so the assumption is that whatever it is, it's dead. Also, we see snow falling in front of her face, which means that the odds are this sequence takes place on the Starkiller Base's icy surface. With these details in mind, we have three candidates that we think could be lying in the snow before her.
Our first guess is John Boyega's Finn, who despite having a lightsaber in all of the new trailers may not know exactly how to use it. The theory goes as follows: Finn is forced into a confrontation with Adam Driver's Kylo Ren, and both gentlemen spark up their lightsabers. After a fantastic duel involving both parties giving it their all, Kylo gains the upper hand and cuts down Finn in a fit of rage. Now this could work, as we're not sure if John Boyega is signed on for the full trilogy. Of course, this begs the question of why they'd introduce this new character so prominently, only to kill them off. With the intensity of Rey's tears, we don't think Finn's death would be enough to drive her to that level of emotion. This death is bigger, more personal; which makes us think that maybe it isn't Finn, but rather Han Solo that dies in this scene.
With rumors of Rey being a child of Han and Leia, and the knowledge that she links up with Han and Chewie at some point in her journey, it wouldn't be a surprise if Han tagged along on a mission to Starkiller Base, only to tragically be taken out in the line of duty. With Harrison Ford wanting to be written out of the character at points in the past, and the speculation that Kylo is also a possible Solo child, as well as Han's murderer, this possibility is a little less off base. We would have run with this theory and called it a day, if it wasn't for one particular detail in the freeze frame we provided above.
If you look at the screen grab from the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer, you see that the figure lying in front of Rey is a bit hairier than the average person. On either extreme of the frame, there are stray hairs standing up, and in high enough concentrations that we assume this corpse belongs to Han Solo's best friend, and first mate of the Millennium Falcon, Chewbacca. While Rey isn't as familiar with Chewbacca as we all are, one could assume that she'd latch on to his awesome attitude and warm animal appearance in a heartbeat. With his death, she would mourn as the audience will, with great feelings of sorrow for such a memorable character.
While we're not sure of any of these deaths, we're most comfortable with saying that Chewbacca will be the one to make Rey cry tears of pain. With his warm presence, his bad ass nature, and J.J. Abrams penchant for taking side characters that are important enough to make for a shocking casualty, it seems like the easiest assumption to back. This might even be the moment that makes Han and Leia embrace in the trailers, as they remember their dearly departed friend and mourn his passing. We'll find out soon enough, as we're within striking distance of Star Wars: The Force Awakens being released on December 18.
