Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Where Will Rey's Journey Through the Force Take Her?

Earlier today, the trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi debuted, giving us a good idea of what to expect from the eight installment in the Star Wars trilogies. #TheLastJedi will continue where #TheForceAwakens left off, addressing Rey's long-awaited meeting with Luke Skywalker. Their meeting in Episode VII was cut short by the ending of the film but today's teaser trailer answers the question of what happened after Rey met with Luke in the end.

From what we can see in the trailer, it looks like Rey is under Luke's guidance as she explores the way of the Force. We can hear Luke's voice as he guides Rey through her Force training.

Luke: "Breathe, just breathe. Now, reach out. What do you see?"

Luke's dialogue is paired with images of Rey as she spends time on his isolated island. And from the looks of what Rey's doing on said island, she's undergoing Force training.

Once Luke's dialogue trails off, Rey describes what she's looking at, presumably within her own mind.

Rey: "Light...darkness...and balance."

It's clear Rey is referring to the Force. And from the sound of what she's going through, she's faced with a decision.

To be clear, in the #StarWars canon, all Force users are faced with a decision when they become aware of their Force capabilities: Do they follow the light side of the Force, do they seek out the limitless power of the dark side, or do they attempt to find balance between the two? The Skywalker bloodline is a perfect example of Force users who took different paths and Rey, whether or not it is revealed she is a Skywalker or not, will have her own decision to make.

So which direction does she take?

The Dark Side

Some may be skeptical of Rey embracing the dark side but there's always a chance. And when we account for the title of the movie being The Last Jedi, it's possible the title is an indication of Rey going down a different path than expected. Most assume that Rey will become the next savior of the Star Wars universe but what if Rey's story is expected to take a different turn?

Apart from guesses, we've seen that even the strongest-willed Force users are susceptible to the dark side so Rey could easily wind up in the same boat. Just look at what happened to Anakin Skywalker when he was teased with the possibility of saving Padme in #RevengeoftheSith. Despite being the prophesied "chosen one," the one who would bring balance to the Force, he went to the dark side. With that in mind, it's reasonable to assume Rey might take a similar path if embracing the dark side means she can save the galaxy from the First Order.

The First Order is currently dominating the galaxy, laying waste to everything in its way. Rey might take advantage of any opportunity that'll make her a more formidable adversary against them. And if she learns that the dark side can imbue her with the ability she needs to stop them, it's not a stretch to say that she might open herself up to that path in a moment of desperation, despite the consequences.

In that scenario, #Rey would also leave herself open to becoming corrupted just like Anakin. In which case, Rey won't be the savior we all think she'll be. Luckily, a decision to embrace the Dark Side seems unlikely considering the storyline they've set up so far.

Finding a Balance

Another option is for Rey to find balance between the two sides. She does say that she sees both light, dark, and balance when looking into the Force so this may be a sign that she'll be the one to bring balance to the Force.

The ploy of bringing balance to the Force was mentioned by Obi-Wan Kenobi in the prequel trilogies, where he believed #AnakinSkywalker would be the person who'd bring balance to the Force. Unfortunately, not only did he not bring balance, he unbalanced it even further when he slaughtered all the remaining Jedi.

The mantle was then passed on to Luke, who failed as well, evident by the rise of dark side users like Kylo Ren. But that doesn't mean we should expect that to be Rey's path, too.

There's a good chance that Rey is the one who'll bring it balance to the Force, what with the number of Force users left down to a handful.

The Light Side

The most logical path for Rey to take is that of the light side. She's proven her will is stronger than that of #KyloRen's, whose abilities have been strengthened by going dark. So far Rey's abilities, however, seem to stem from the side of light.

If she proves to be the "last Jedi" (if that doesn't mean multiple Jedi, as has been speculated), she's obviously going to be more aligned with the forces of good rather than evil. That said, Rey also appears to be fully immersed in her training with #LukeSkywalker so there's definitely proof of Rey following the path of the Light.

Those were just the logical paths Rey can take now that her Force training is underway. Rey still can choose an entirely different path, one we never saw coming.