Star Wars Battlefront: Is That Crashed Star Destroyer On Tatooine Or Jakku?

The first image from the second trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens is burned in our brains. A speeder races along a vast desert, and as the camera follows it, a crashed Star Destroyer is revealed. Soon, we learned this is the planet Jakku, home of Rey, and location of an epic battle between the Empire and Rebellion some time after Return of the Jedi. In a single shot, director J.J. Abrams tells his audience how the galaxy has changed since Jedi and sets up the world we'll see in The Force Awakens.

Soon after that trailer was released, we found out fans will get to participate in the Battle of Jakku when the video game Star Wars Battlefront is released before The Force Awakens.

Now, fast forward to this week and E3. EA released a new trailer for Star Wars Battlefront which takes place on a desert planet and ends with a Star Destroyer crashing. Some have speculated this is our first look at the Battle of Jakku. Is that true? Find out below.

First of all, here's the trailer via EA.

Though the trailer doesn't say it, if you actually played the footage in this trailer at E3, it begins with this text, via Making Star Wars:

After a daring escape from an Imperial attack you find yourself stranded in a desolate canyon on Tatooine. Admiral Ackbar has ordered a rescue operation but the Imperial forces are rapidly closing in on your position. You will have to fight until help arrives. May the Force be with you.

Not to mention the video is called "Survival Mode on Tatooine" as well as the Twin Suns at the beginning of the trailer. This is the game on the left, movie on the right.

So, no. This is not Jakku. It's Tatooine; we're seeing the most famous planet in all of Star Wars.

But even so, this still raises some issues. Crashing a Star Destroyer is no small feat. However, while Star Wars Battlefront will have some canon storylines, most of it is like a giant Star Wars sandbox where a fan's imagination can run wild. So a crashed Star Destroyer on Tatooine, which might sound like a huge event in Star Wars history, is kind of like if you saw Darth Vader riding a Tauntaun on Dagobah. It's something you can make happen in a game for fun. (Note: I don't think you can actually do that, it's just a crazy example.)

Even still, this trailer doesn't directly link to The Force Awakens and Jakku but EA and Lucasfilm knew what they were doing here. Look at this. Game left, movie right.

They knew showing a crashing Star Destroyer, in that exact position, would make people think of Jakku and thereby, The Force Awakens. Is there a reason behind that? Or is it just a reminder of the downloadable content? We don't know.

Here's what we do know. Star Wars Battlefront will be released November 17. The Battle of Jakku DLC will be out December 8. Then, Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits on December 18.

UPDATE: We were just alerted to this article on IGN where DICE General Manager Patrick Bach explained why the Star Destroyer was crashing on the planet. It doesn't always happen, only when the Rebels are winning.

We have a concept we call Battle Beyond. The cool thing with this is it's actually part of the player feedback. So depending on which side is winning or losing, these events [in the background] actually change....It's what you usually do in a UI, you make it bluntly obvious. It's slowly hinting at who's winning, and I think it's a brilliant concept to give you the information and emotion you need to understand or change your plans.... You don't need a gauge blinking. It's part of the world.