With Justice League now in theaters, there's one more major blockbuster left in 2017. Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi will arrive in a few weeks, continuing the main narrative of the Star Wars franchise. The new trilogy debuted two years ago with J.J. Abrams' The Force Awakens, and there are still a ton of looming questions around the narrative of that film. Many fans are hoping for answers with the next sequel, and it looks like at least one of these questions will be answered. As Rian Johnson tells it, The Last Jedi will address why Luke has been separated from his sister, especially in the wake of Han Solo's death. The director recently revealed,
The big question is why didn't he respond to Leia during [The Force Awakens]? There's a lot of things you can't answer until you see this movie... It's very important for Luke to feel grounded and feel like he has a family. I think he loves her dearly.
Per Rian Johnson's comments to EW, we'll finally have some sort of Skywalker resolution when The Last Jedi finally arrives in theaters. And after losing Han at the hands of Luke's former padawan Kylo Ren, there's a ton of issues for the siblings to hash out.
Luke's absence in The Force Awakens was a point of contention for most fans. The mystery surrounding his appearance was at a fever pitch when the film was released in 2015, only for the protagonist to show up for a whopping two minutes in the film's final moments. Plus, after Han Solo died it became clear that we'd never be getting the trio of original protagonists back together. As Han perished at his son's hands, we saw Leia feel this loss through The Force, looking utterly despondent at the Resistance Base.
It's possible that Han's fate could have been avoided if Luke hadn't sent himself into exile. If he was part of the small steam on Starkiller base, he might have been able to protect the scruffy looking nerf herder, or battle against Kylo Ren. By all accounts, Leia lost her son and lover in one foul swoop-- both of which could likely be blamed on Luke in one way or another. It will be fascinating to see how the Skywalker siblings grapple with their shared loss in The Last Jedi, if and when the two finally reunite.
Overall, it should be fascinating to see how The Last Jedi wraps up General Leia's story. While Episode IX was originally meant to be a Leia-centric movie, Carrie Fisher's death throws a wrench into the franchise's plans. The trailers for The Last Jedi seem to hint at Kylo Ren possibly killing his mother, although Star Wars trailers are notoriously misleading. After all, why would they reveal such an epic moment before the film is even released?
Star Wars: The Last Jedi will arrive in theaters on December 15th. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your trips to the movies in the New Year.
