That galaxy far, far away we know and love is a big place, so with each new Star Wars movie, we can count on at least one new planet to be introduced. Star Wars: The Last Jedi won't be an exception, and recent months, it had been rumored that one of the new worlds would be where a key battle between The Resistance and The First Order would take place that involved the latter side using upgraded armored walkers. That planet's existence has finally been confirmed thanks to the new trailer, and it's called Crait. Here's how director Rian Johnson described it:
It's way out there. It's very remote. It's uncharted. It's a mineral planet and so there are mines on it. [There are some] beautiful design elements and I hope some really unique ones that we're able to bring into it.
With Crait's white surface and the Heavy Assault Walkers slowly marching forward, that moment in the Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer shares some similarities with the Hoth battle in The Empire Strikes Back, but Rian Johnson noted that it isn't snow on the surface, but a dusting of white salt over a "red, ruby-ish base." Johnson also confirmed that Crait is where an old Rebel base that has long been abandoned is located. As for how Crait will fit into The Last Jedi's story, the director said the following to EW:
It ends up playing a key role in the movie. [The Resistance fighters] show up where they have to deal with a very pressing and immediate threat.
Contrary to the jokes and comments being made online, the ships that are kicking red dust in the Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer are not Podracers, but actually "skimmers." We won't know what their capabilities are until the movie's release this winter, but much like the snowspeeders the Rebels used on Hoth, don't count out the usefulness of these skimmers just going off of their size or clunkiness.
Following the destruction of Starkiller Base in The Force Awakens, the conflict between The Resistance and The First Order has escalated immensely in The Last Jedi. Before this new trailer broke and Crait's existence was official, it had been reported that the mines on this planet contained gems that were used to fund both Rebel and Resistance operations. We'll have to wait and see whether such treasures are indeed located on Crait, but obviously this world is important if both The Resistance and The First Order are clashing there. As for those Resistance skimmers, I wonder if kicking up that red ash is a strategic move to provide cover so that they can pull off something sneaky without The First Order noticing.
You can find out what goes down on Crait when Star Wars: The Last Jedi is released in theaters on December 15.
