A new image of Finn in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is further proof of how spoiler-averse the film’s marketing campaign is. That promotion for one of Disney’s new Star Wars movies leans heavily on the secrecy isn’t anything new; the studio’s played things very close to the chest since the sequel trilogy kicked off in 2015. However, even by their standards, things have been ratcheted up a notch for The Rise of Skywalker. The studio withheld revealing the film’s official title until the first teaser trailer at Celebration Chicago, and since then they’ve been very measured in their approach.

Since Celebration back in April, there was a special look at Star Wars 9 released at D23 and a final trailer that came out earlier this week (as well as several still images). For the most part, all of these materials have provided fuel for fan theories and speculation, rather than confirming any concrete plot details. That strategy continues with the latest Rise of Skywalker photo.

On Twitter, Boyega shared a new picture of Finn surveying the scene on desert planet Pasaana. He’s armed with a blaster, indicating that perhaps he’s looking for cover while engaged in a confrontation. Take a look at the image above.

Admittedly, the photo itself isn’t anything all that eye-catching or revelatory, but that’s the whole point. While advertising The Rise of Skywalker, Disney is pulling a page out of the Avengers: Endgame playbook, barely hinting at what the film’s actual narrative is. The general gist is that the main Resistance heroes embark on a mission together to take down the First Order (and Emperor Palpatine) once and for all, but everything else remains a mystery. Looking at the results, it’s hard to argue with this approach. The Rise of Skywalker is already breaking ticket sales records on services like Atom and Fandango, proving audiences are sold on the film, regardless of how much information they know. The inevitable wave of TV spots will probably be similarly discreet, most assuredly recycling previously unveiled footage.

Most viewers are probably OK with this; fans always walk a fine line between seeking out plot details and trying to avoid spoilers. Few want to know The Rise of Skywalker’s twists and turns before they settle into the theater this December. On the flip side, the film is going to need to validate Disney’s marketing strategy, showing there was a legitimate reason to keep things so closely guarded. Director J.J. Abrams is infamous for his mystery boxes, and sometimes they come up empty (Star Trek Into Darkness’ John Harrison snafu). Though, it should be pointed out Abrams himself has expressed regret over his past mistakes, so hopefully whatever surprises The Rise of Skywalker has in store blow fans’ minds and end the saga on the highest of notes.

More: Star Wars: Everything Still Missing From The Rise of Skywalker’s Trailers

Source: John Boyega

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