The Last Jedi
My immediate musings on the next Star Wars film
What a time to be alive, at least in the movies Disney is putting out! Since December 2015, we have been spoiled by a new Star Wars movie for Christmas each year. If I could tell my childhood self that I’d get Marvel and Star Wars films so regularly, he would be absolutely jealous.
After 2016’s bold non-trilogy story Rogue One, without the usual Star Wars staples of John Williams’ soundtrack and our main cast of heroes, we’re back to finding out what Luke Skywalker’s been up to for the last few years, seeing Rey training montages and the Poe Dameron/ Finn (b)romance continue to grow.
The title is suitably cryptic, especially for a middle episode. Does this refer to a single Jedi or a group? Is it Luke Skywalker? Luke and Rey? Or will we meet more Force-users in this film? Will Skywalker have to sacrifice himself, leaving Rey as literally the only Jedi left? I guess we’ll find out in 11 months!
With a number of years spent in the now non-canon Star Wars Expanded Universe, this title would likely refer to Luke and Rey at the start of the film, before pivoting to show that actually there are more Force-sensitive characters to be found in the universe. Sadly, without a clear galactic government after J.J. Abrams pressed the reset button with an apathetic Republic hierarchy destroyed by Starkiller Base, these individuals have no reason to show themselves for fear of being killed by a First Order with an apparently limitless military industrial complex.
My main hopes for the film after The Force Awakens’s character victories, are to fill in the gaps and to finish with a suitable series of losses to force our remaining heroes to come back strong for Episode IX. But honestly, I know that any plot irregularities and inconsistencies will seem insignificant when the crawl starts and that John Williams soundtrack washes over me. I’m excited.
