by The Collected Mutineer

D23, the official convention for all things Disney, was held this last weekend in Anaheim—and as can be expected, we received tons of breaking fan news and content for our favorite Disney-owned fandoms including Star Wars and Marvel.

The Star Wars front was heavily anticipated, since we’d previously only had the one trailer for the final installment, The Rise of Skywalker. They presented a special look at the new film…and by special look, I mean it’s basically a nostalgic trailer.

Contrary to what you might think is going to happen in this post, I’m not going to break down what the trailer contains (and yes, it contains some pretty hefty stuff). Instead, I want to focus on how the trailer made me feel. Over half of the special look’s 2 minutes and ten second running time is dedicated to former Star Wars films, showing us the familiar faces and moments that made these movies classics. It tells the (rather abbreviated) Star Wars story, everything that led us to where our heroes are now. And I don’t know about you, but it made me want to call in sick from work so I could stay home and have a movie marathon.

I may be a relative newbie to the Star Wars fandom (yes, I only saw the original films in 2011), but these movies have cemented themselves pretty deep in my cache of “things that make me feel better.” They’re so much more than epic lightsaber battles or witty dialogue. Star Wars is about fighting for a better future. Star Wars is about family. Star Wars is about keeping a hold on your hope, even when everything around you feels hopeless.

TLDR: the story of a generation might be coming to an end, but the countless lessons will continue on inspiring generations to come. And that’s pretty freaking motivating to me.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will hit theaters December 20, 2019.