There are few franchises as beloved as Star Wars. With the fandom spanning entire generations, every moment from the space opera have been discussed and dissected. The property is taking a major step forward this coming December with Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which will continue the narrative started by J.J. Abrams' The Force Awakens. But the franchise is also known for keeping its cards close to the chest, allowing moviegoers to see the films with a fresh perspective. Luckily for us, Johnson finally answered the biggest question revolving around Episode VIII: who the hell is the titular Last Jedi?
It's in the opening crawl of The Force Awakens. Luke Skywalker, right now, is the last Jedi. There's always wiggle room in these movies -- everything is from a certain point of view -- but coming into our story, he is the actual last of the Jedi. And he's removed himself and is alone on this island, for reasons unknown.
Well, that was surprisingly straightforward. Instead of worrying about the plural of the word Jedi and debating whether or not it could be Rey or Luke, we finally have an answer. Luke Skywalker is in fact The Last Jedi.
Rian Johnson's comment to the New York Times confirms one of the more obvious theories, and we're happy that after months of conversation regarding The Last Jedi's title, the news is officially out there. While he was mentoring force sensitive pupils, Kylo Ren ended up massacring everyone, so once again Luke was alone in the Order. This eventually resulted in his self-made exile, as he further isolated himself from the outside world and the battle against The Dark Side.
This isn't to say that Luke Skywalker is destined to be The Last Jedi forever. Afterall, Rey has shown an impressive talent with her new abilities in The Force Awakens. Plus, Finn was somehow able to operate a lightsaber and briefly battle Kylo Ren, meaning he may have some Force sensitivity as well. If Luke can eventually be persuaded to rejoin The Resistance and keep the Jedi Order going, perhaps he'll have another two padawans on his hands.
While we finally know who The Last Jedi is, most of Rian Johnson's upcoming sequel is still very much a mystery. The film will reportedly open just moments after The Force Awakens ends, with Rey, Chewie, and R2-D2 on Ach-To with Luke. Meanwhile, Finn is still recovering from his injuries, and it looks like Poe is being further mentored by General Leia in order to keep The Resistance going. But the overall plot and the nature of new characters played by Laura Dern and Benicio Del Toro are still a total mystery.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi will arrive in theaters on December 15, 2017. In the meantime, check out our 2017 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
