The Star Wars movies pack a lot of content into a 120-150 timeframe, and last December's The Last Jedi was no exception. As the middle chapter of the current trilogy, the Rian Johnson-directed installment was an especially big game changer for the Star Wars franchise, setting up big things for Episode IX. However, not everything written for The Last Jedi made the final cut, but fortunately, like the previous Star Wars movies, it received its own novelization, allowing for certain plot points to be expanded upon, other events to be shown (like Han Solo's funeral), new events to be revealed, etc.
The Last Jedi novelization hits shelves next Tuesday, but details about the book, passed on by Dork Sides of the Force, have already made their way online, and some of them are especially interesting. With that in mind, here are the surprises that can be found within The Last Jedi's novel form.
It goes without saying that SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Last Jedi are ahead.
Luke Had Already Decided To Burn The Jedi Texts
After Rey departed Ahch-To to confront Kylo Ren before her training was complete, Luke Skywalker set out to burn the tree containing the ancient Jedi texts to the ground, believing that the Jedi legacy needed to finally end. It turns out, though, that he planned to do that anyway right before Rey showed up, and it was only because the young woman was so insistent on him training her in the ways of the Force that he delayed his plan. Luke ultimately hesitated with setting the tree ablaze when Yoda's ghost appeared, and the deceased Jedi Master ended up doing the job himself with bolt of Force lightning. Fortunately, Rey packed the Jedi texts aboard the Millennium Falcon before she left, so even though the tree on Ahch-To is gone, its contents can still be appreciated.
Kylo Ren Would Have Saved Leia If Possible
Star Wars: The Last Jedi teased moviegoers in second trailer about whether or not Kylo Ren would kill his mother, Leia Organa. After all, he had no issue stabbing Daddy Solo in The Force Awakens. But when the moment came in the movie, the man once known as Ben Solo decided not to gun the bridge of the cruiser where his mother was located, with the novelization noting that he made this decision because he felt she wasn't angry with him. His wingmen, on the other hand, didn't get the memo, destroying the bridge and killing everyone on board except Leia, who used the Force to guide her back to the inhabitable part of that ship. The novelization also mentioned that Kylo would have used the Force to stop that missile, but because it happened so suddenly, he was taken off guard.
Palpatine Knew About Snoke's Existence
For six movies, Palpatine, a.k.a. Darth Sidious, was the puppet master working behind the scenes in the Star Wars universe to overthrow the Republic and install a regime where the Sith would reign supreme. He and his Empire had a good two-decade-long run, but in the end, his overconfidence was his downfall, leading to him being tossed down the shaft of a soon-to-be-exploding Death Star. Shortly before his death, though, Palpatine sensed Snoke through the Force, though he wasn't sure exactly who or what he was sensing. Maybe if he'd learned Snoke's identity, Palpatine might have taken steps to eliminate him, assuming he saw Snoke as an opponent (which he likely would have).
Snoke's Takeover Of The First Order Was Unexpected
The Last Jedi novelization doesn't help with pinpointing where exactly Snoke came from, but it does shed a little more light on how he became The First Order's supreme leader. Folks who've played Star Wars Battlefront II are aware that Palpatine established Operation Cinder as a way to destroy the Empire in the event it was going to fall, but in its place establish The First Order in its place. The surviving Imperial leadership followed through with this plan, but they didn't foresee Snoke's rise to power. To cement his place at the top of the food chain, Snoke killed most of these leaders, though he kept Armitage Hux around as a tool.
Snoke Learned More About The Force In The Unknown Regions
We still have yet to learn how Snoke's Force journey began, but apparently he learned a lot about this mysterious energy that binds all living things together in the Unknown Regions, a corner of the Star Wars galaxy that isn't mapped out. If you've read some of the post-Return of the Jedi Star Wars literature, you may already know that the First Order hid many of its bases and laboratories in the edges of the Unknown Regions, so clearly Snoke is fond of this uncharted region. With Rian Johnson's upcoming trilogy being set in an unexplored corner of the galaxy far. far away, maybe we'll finally see what lies in the deepest recesses of the Unknown Regions on the big screen in the coming years?
Luke And Snoke Connected
Luke Skywalker and Snoke never shared any screen time in The Last Jedi, though both were certainly aware of one another. As it turns out, this wasn't just from word of mouth, as they actually met each other. In the decades after Return of the Jedi, Luke and R2-D2 traveled the galaxy to learn more about Jedi history and the Force, and during this time, Luke connected with Snoke to broaden his Force knowledge. It's unclear if Luke knew right away that Snoke was evil, though I imagine once Luke learned of Snoke's true nature, he regretted crossing paths with the decrepit dark side user.
Snoke Considered Killing Kylo Ren
Just like Emperor Palpation with Darth Vader, Snoke had no problem humiliating his apprentice, Kylo Ren. In The Last Jedi, Snoke insulted Kylo and called into question his competency up until the moment Kylo decided enough was enough and turned on Rey's lightsaber to cut Snoke in half. At the very least, Snoke's cruel treatment was used as a way for Kylo to embrace his anger and become stronger. That said, even though he stated that Kylo had redeemed himself for his past failures, if Kylo had killed Rey as originally intended, Snoke still intended to re-examine his apprentice's future after The Resistance was destroyed. Snoke even thought about killing Kylo, which just goes to show that there truly is no such thing as loyalty when one embraces the dark side.
Rey Is A Manifestation Of The Cosmic Force
The Clone Wars TV series revealed a lot of interesting facts about the Force, including how its classified. While the Living Force is the energy of life, the Cosmic Force is the will of the universe, and it's through that that Rey came to be. Unlike Anakin Skywalker, Rey wasn't conceived without a father, but evidently the Cosmic Force still manifested her as part of its will. The Last Jedi novelization also mentions how the Cosmic Force fell dormant once the Sith were defeated and reemerged during Luke Skywalker's exile on Ahch-To.
