Star Wars: The Last Jedi is the eighth live-action theatrical installment in the Star Wars film franchise and the second installment in the sequel trilogy.
Produced under the Disney-Lucasfilm brand, it's the tenth theatrically released film in the Star Wars franchise, written and directed by Rian Johnson, with George Lucas providing a story treatment. Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman produced the film along with J.J. Abrams who served as executive producer. It was released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures on December 15, 2017.
Production[]
Unofficial reports claimed in November 2012 that Lawrence Kasdan, who originally wrote the screenplays for both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and co-writer Simon Kinberg would divide writing responsibilities for The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, and both would co-produce all three films of the upcoming sequel trilogy, alongside Kathleen Kennedy.
In February 2013, Disney revealed that Kasdan and Kinberg were working on standalone films as well.
During a concert with the Young Musician's Foundation Debut Orchestra on February 9, composer John Williams stated that he was hoping to get the chance to write the musical scores for the entire new trilogy. His involvement was made official when Star Wars Insider 144 stated he would score the "new Star Wars trilogy".
In June 2014, it was announced that Rian Johnson, director of the hit 2012 sci-fi flick Looper, would write and direct The Last Jedi.
It was announced in August 2014 that actress Daisy Ridley would reprise her role in both Episodes VIII and IX.[1]
In fall 2015, Benicio del Toro was cast as a new villain in the film, joining Adam Driver and Andy Serkis, who play the trilogy's main villains Ben Solo/Kylo Ren and Supreme Leader Snoke respectively. Gugu Mbatha-Raw was additionally cast as a fourth main lead, signed on for both Episodes VIII and IX. She joins Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac, who play Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron respectively. Mbatha-Raw wound up not appearing in the film, with Kelly Marie Tran taking her place as the fourth lead.
In January 2017, the title of Episode VIII was officially revealed to be The Last Jedi.[2]
Plot[]
Right after the destruction of the Starkiller Base, General Leia Organa leads the evacuation of the Resistance forces from planet D'Qar from the First Order fleet of Resurgent-class Star Destroyers which has arrived there. Resistance pilot Poe Dameron distracts First Order leading general, General Hux, before leading a counterattack to destroy the Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought Fulminatrix, against Leia's orders. Although the attack is successful and destroys the dreadnought, it leads to dozens of Resistance lives being lost, much to Leia's displeasure as she demotes Poe to captain for his recklessness. The remaining Resistance escapes into hyperspace, where Poe reunites with the former stormtrooper Finn, who has awakened from his coma and is wondering where Rey is.
In his ship, Kylo Ren meets with his master, Supreme Leader Snoke, but instead of being proud that Kylo killed his father, Han Solo, and stayed in the dark side, Snoke instead says that he now has little-to-no faith in Kylo's potential to become the new Darth Vader, since his deed of killing his father only made Kylo more weaker and unbalanced, which allowed him to lose to a girl who never held a lightsaber. As a result, Snoke denounces Kylo as just a "child in a mask". Kylo, heartbroken and enraged that he killed his father for nothing, smashes his mask to pieces in a fit of rage before ordering two officers to prepare his TIE silencer.
Rey, who has arrived on the planet Ahch-To with Chewbacca and R2-D2 with the Millennium Falcon, attempts to recruit legendary Luke Skywalker to the Resistance. She hands Luke his old lightsaber, but to her surprise, he throws it over his shoulder, refusing to help. Even after learning about Han's death and the fact that Rey has the Force, Luke still refuses to come out of his self-imposed exile, and says that it's time for the Jedi to end. However, Luke is given some encouragement by R2-D2, who plays the recorded old message of Leia begging Obi-Wan Kenobi for help against the Empire. He reluctantly begins to train Rey in the ways of the Force, but only to teach her why the Jedi Order needs to end.
On the MC85 Star Cruiser Raddus, Leia demotes Poe to captain for his costly counterattack mission, but soon after, the First Order attacks the Resistance again, having used a device to track them through light speed. Determined to prove himself, Kylo pilots his TIE silencer, leading a squadron of TIE fighters to attack the lead Resistance ship. He then hesitates to fire before deciding not to destroy the ship after sensing his mother Leia's presence on board. His wingmen destroy the bridge, however, killing most of the Resistance's leaders including Admiral Ackbar. Leia is dragged into space, but she survives using the Force.
As Leia recovers, Vice Admiral Holdo assumes command of the Resistance. Poe and Holdo begin struggling to work with each other, with Poe constantly asking Holdo if she has a plan to escape the First Order, while Holdo shows reluctance to trust Poe due to Leia recently demoting him. Running low on fuel, the remaining fleet is pursued by the First Order. Finn attempts to escape to reunite with Rey, but he is stopped by Resistance mechanic Rose Tico, who was mourning her sister, who sacrificed herself in Poe's earlier attack. Realizing they both know how the First Order's tracking device works, they meet with Poe, who entrusts them and BB-8 with a secret mission to deactivate the First Order's tracking device, while keeping the mission secret from Holdo, much to C-3PO's concern. Maz Kanata makes contact with them and directs them to the casino town Canto Bight, on the planet Cantonica, to find the Master Codebreaker who can crack the tracking device.
On Ahch-To, as Rey prepares her first lesson with Luke, she and Kylo suddenly begin to experience Force connections, in which they can see and communicate with each other despite them being in separate locations, puzzling them both. As the first lesson, Luke attempts to show Rey the Force and how to achieve balance, while stating that the Force doesn't belong just to the Jedi. Rey, however, experiences a vision of herself being pulled into a dark pit, stunning Luke, as he claims that he only ever felt the same raw strength in the Force in Ben Solo. At the same time, it's also revealed that Luke has cut himself off from the Force.
Later, during a second Force connection with Kylo, he questions Rey if Luke ever told her about the night he fell to the dark side, but Rey states that she already knows everything she needs to know about the dark warrior and calls him a murderous snake. Shortly after, Rey starts combat training with the her quarterstaff and then with the Skywalker lightsaber while Luke watches her from afar. Luke then speaks with her during their second lesson. Luke reveals his disillusionment with the Jedi due to their mistakes and failures in the past (including allowing Darth Sidious to rise and create the Empire, and a Jedi being responsible for the training and creation of Darth Vader), then tells Rey how he failed to properly train his nephew Ben Solo before he was seduced to the dark side, became Kylo Ren, and destroyed Luke's temple. Rey tells Luke that despite his failure, the galaxy still needs someone like him, and vows that she will not fail Luke like Kylo did.
Finn, Rose, and BB-8 arrive in the city of Canto Bight, where Rose reveals her hatred of the planet and its citizens because the rich people that gamble in the planet's casinos got rich from selling weapons to the First Order, and it's home to a number of rotten individuals who take pleasure in several misdeeds, giving Finn more cause to attempt to fight the First Order. They attempt to recruit the help of the Master Codebreaker, but are suddenly thrown in jail due to a parking violation. In their cell, they meet the hacker DJ, who says he can help them shut down Snoke's tracking device. The group eventually manage to escape the planet with the help of stablehand children and racing animals, the fathiers, they set free.
Back on Ahch-To, Luke reconnects to the Force, managing to sense a still-recovering Leia. Rey and Kylo have another Force connection, while he is shirtless in his private quarters, which initially makes her uncomfortable and she asks him to cover himself. Kylo sees Rey's weakness of not accepting the fact that her parents left her on Jakku, and always looking for parental figures in Han and now in Luke. Kylo then tells Rey what happened between him and Luke that caused him to choose the dark side, saying that Luke sensed Ben's growing power, feared it, and attempted to kill him, before revealing his reason of killing his father: "Let the past die. Kill it if you have to. That's the only way to become what you were meant to be." Rey refuses to believe in Kylo's story, but instigated by his words, she attempts to find answers about her parents through the dark pit shown in her vision, ending up going through a mirror cave in the process. Inside the cave, she asks to see her parents, but finds no answers as she sees only her own reflection, leaving her desolated.
During another Force connection, Rey is inside a hut, crying and telling Kylo what happened in the mirror cave. A tearful Kylo tries to comfort her by saying that she is not alone, and they warm up to each other as romantic feelings grow between them. Kylo removes his glove and they reach to touch hands through their bond and see visions of them as future partners. But then Luke walks in and when he sees Kylo and Rey touching hands, he becomes furious and destroys the hut. An infuriated Rey confronts Luke over what Kylo told her, and after a brief duel with each other, Luke confesses that he momentarily contemplated killing Kylo upon sensing that Snoke was corrupting him, but hesitated, then Ben woke up to see Luke with his lightsaber. Ben, feeling betrayed, turned to the dark side and became Kylo Ren. Now convinced that Kylo can be redeemed, Rey leaves Ahch-To, declaring that Ben Solo is the last hope to win the war. A disappointed Luke prepares to burn the Jedi library, but hesitates. The Force spirit of Yoda appears before Luke and destroys the library by summoning a bolt of Force lightning, stating that Rey already has what she needs to learn, and encouraging Luke to learn from his failure, stating "The greatest teacher failure is".
Holdo reveals her plan to evacuate the remaining members of the Resistance using small transport vessels. Believing her plan is cowardly and futile, Poe stages a mutiny, preventing Holdo from proceeding with the evacuation. Finn, Rose, and DJ infiltrate the Mega-class Star Dreadnought Supremacy, but their attempt to disable the tracking device ultimately fails when all three are captured by Captain Phasma, who is revealed to have survived the ordeal at Starkiller Base. At that moment, Leia recovers and stops Poe's mutiny, thus allowing the evacuation to proceed, though both Leia and Holdo compliment Poe's daring. Holdo remains aboard the ship as a decoy to mislead Snoke's fleet as the others flee to an abandoned rebel base on the nearby salt planet Crait.
Meanwhile, Rey arrives on the Supremacy and is immediately taken into custody by Kylo. In the elevator on their way to the throne room, both of them state that they saw each other's futures where one of them turns to their respective side, while Kylo also states that he saw who Rey's parents are. Kylo brings Rey to Snoke, but despite Rey standing up to Snoke by saying he underestimates Ben Solo, Luke and her, Snoke quickly turns the tables by revealing that he manipulated Rey and Kylo's growing Force connection to bait Rey into arriving at Snoke's ship (while claiming that he created the connection), enabling Snoke to find Luke and ultimately kill him, much to Rey and Kylo's shock. Snoke then proceeds to painfully mind probe Rey in order to get Luke's location while Kylo watches the scene showing discomfort by averting his eyes.
Simultaneously, somewhere else on the Supremacy, as the captured Finn and Rose are taken by Captain Phasma towards General Hux and an army of stormtroopers, they reveal that DJ had revealed the Resistance's escape plan to the First Order in exchange for money and freedom, and the First Order fleet begins firing on the evacuation transports, destroying many, while Phasma prepares to execute Finn and Rose. She says that execution by firing squad is “too good” for them and decides to make their deaths as painful as possible by beheading them.
After successfully torturing Rey for Luke's location, Snoke foils Rey's attempt to attack him using Kylo's lightsaber. Snoke then orders Kylo to kill Rey to complete his training and fulfill his destiny, while stating that he senses that Kylo has reached to a resolve and that the girl's attempts to redeem Kylo are foolish because his apprentice would never betray him. However, instead of killing Rey as Snoke imagined, Kylo instead uses the Force to manipulate the Skywalker lightsaber to cut Snoke in half at the waist, killing him and saving Rey's life.
Rey and Kylo then work together to battle and defeat Snoke's Praetorian Guards. Rey believes that Kylo has abandoned the dark side, but he still has no intent to help the Resistance, despite his feelings for her. He instead reveals that he intends to create a new order in the galaxy, separate from the legacies created by Luke, Snoke, the Sith, the Jedi, and the Rebels; letting all the past die. He offers his hand, asking Rey to join him and rule the galaxy by his side. He also gets Rey to admit what she had hidden in her mind: her parents were "nobody", Jakku junk traders who sold Rey for drinking money and are long dead, and states that she means something to him despite her origins and appearing to have no place in the grand story. Rey cries hearing his offer, asking him not to follow this path, but Kylo just holds out his hand again and pleads her to take it. Rey hesitates, but ultimately refuses to join Kylo; they battle for control of the Skywalker's lightsaber, ultimately splitting it in two.
At that moment, Holdo sacrifices herself by slicing through the Mega-Destroyer at light speed and destroying several Resurgent Star Destroyers, crippling the First Order fleet. In the ensuing chaos, BB-8 frees Finn and Rose, and Finn faces off against Phasma, eventually besting her and causing her to fall to her death into a fiery explosion. Rey escapes the destruction, while Kylo lies to Hux that Rey killed Snoke and declares himself the new Supreme Leader of the First Order.
The remaining Resistance survivors, joined by Finn, Rose, and BB-8, arrive on Crait to attempt to call for help from the galaxy. The First Order arrives, carrying a superlaser siege cannon and an army of AT-M6s and AT-ATs. Poe, Finn, Rose, and other pilots engage the First Order armies in battle with old speeders, while Rey and Chewbacca arrive on the Falcon and successfully draw the TIE fighters away from the battle. The battle quickly turns in the First Order's favor, and Poe quickly realizes this is a battle they cannot win, but Finn, not wanting to let the First Order win, attempts to perform a suicide run to destroy the cannon, but Rose stops him, injuring herself in the process. Finn runs to help Rose and asks her why she stopped him, and Rose confesses her feelings for him by stating that she was trying to save what she loves, before kissing him on the lips and falling unconscious. The First Order penetrates the Resistance fortress using the cannon, and with no response given for anyone in the galaxy to help the Resistance, Leia believes that the Resistance has failed and the galaxy has lost its spark for good.
However, Luke suddenly appears and comforts his sister, apologizing for his mistakes and telling Leia he has come to face her son, not save him, but assures Leia that "no one's ever really gone". Luke then walks out of the base to confront the First Order, in order to allow the surviving Resistance to escape. Kylo orders the entire army to fire at Luke, but they fail to harm him. Kylo then engages Luke in a lightsaber duel, during which Luke apologizes to Kylo for failing him and that the Rebellion is reborn, the war has just begun, and that Luke will not be the last Jedi. Luke then goads Kylo to strike him down, and Kylo lands a hit, but Luke still remains standing and unscathed. Kylo realizes that Luke is not physically present, but projecting his image through the Force; this distraction has allowed the Resistance to escape the planet, much to Kylo's anger.
Rey helps the remaining Resistance escape on the Falcon, sharing a final look with Kylo through their Force connection before she closes the door, leaving him depressed on the other side. An exhausted Luke dies peacefully on Ahch-To, becoming one with the Force. Rey and Leia sense his death, and Leia tells Rey that the Resistance can rise again. Aboard the Falcon, R2 reunites with C-3PO while Rey and Poe meet for the first time. Finn finds a blanket for Rose in a drawer containing the Jedi texts, revealing that Yoda did not actually destroy them.
In Canto Bight, the stablehands recount the story of Luke Skywalker; afterward, one of them moves a broom with the Force and gazes into space.
Cast[]
- Daisy Ridley as Rey
- Adam Driver as Ben Solo/Kylo Ren
- Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker
- Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa
- John Boyega as Finn
- Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico
- Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron
- Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke
- Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma
- Laura Dern as Vice Admiral Holdo
- Benicio del Toro as DJ[3]
- Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux
- Frank Oz as Yoda
- Lupita Nyong'o as Maz Kanata
- Anthony Daniels as C-3PO[4]
- Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca
- Billie Lourd as Lt. Connix
- Tim Rose as Admiral Ackbar
- Jimmy Vee as R2-D2
- Mike Quinn as Nien Nunb
- Adrian Edmondson as Captain Peavey
Reception[]
Critical response[]
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 91% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 457 reviews, with an average rating of 8.09/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi honors the saga's rich legacy while adding some surprising twists — and delivering all the emotion-rich action fans could hope for." At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 85 out of 100 based on 56 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Videos[]
Trailers and Behind the Scenes[]
Interviews[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The film was originally scheduled to be released on May 26, 2017, but due to the production falling behind schedule, the release date was pushed back to December 15, 2017.
- This is the first theatrical Star Wars sequel to be released two years after its predecessor contrast to three years like the previous trilogies.
- George Lucas commented on the film and praised it, especially for its visuals. While speaking with director Rian Johnson after viewing the film, Lucas called it "beautifully made."[5]
- This title is not to be confused with the Marvel comic from the 1980's or the Legends novel staring Jax Pavan.
- The title's announcement launched a frenzy of online speculation in regard to the interpretations of the meaning of "last Jedi", with some noting that the term "Jedi" can be used both singularly and plurally.
- In foreign translations of the film, the title is translated to be plural;
- According to director Rian Johnson, he thinks about it as singular and also mentions Luke Skywalker being referred as the "the last Jedi" in The Force Awakens;[6]
- Within the movie itself, the term is used to indicate that Luke is the last Jedi before Rey taking his mantle in the end of the film. As such, both Luke and Rey are the "last Jedi".
- This was Carrie Fisher's final performance, as she died in 2016. Fisher filmed all her scenes prior to her death.
- Unused footage from this film and The Force Awakens was used to include Fisher in the following film.
- Both Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Henry of Wales have cameos as Stormtroopers.
- Rogue One director, Gareth Edwards made a cameo in the movie as a Resistance trooper on Crait. He can be seen next to the soldier who licks the ground and discovers it is salt.
- This film marks the first time strong profanity has been used in the Star Wars saga.
- This is the only film in the series to take place directly after the previous one. A New Hope takes place immediately after Rogue One, but the Anthology films are considered separate from the nine saga movies.
- It is the highest grossing female-led movie domestically for 2017, next to Beauty and the Beast and Wonder Woman which supplanted 1958 as the highest grossing year for female-led movies.
- Both Star Wars films with "Jedi" in their title have seen the death of the leader of the enemy side, though both were succeeded afterwards.
- This is the only second film of a Star Wars trilogy where its protagonist doesn't lose his or her right hand, although Rey does receive a large scar on her right arm.
- This is the first Star Wars film to have a 4K Ultra HD release.
- Thus, it is also the eighth Star Wars film to have a standard Blu-ray release (apart from the digital copy being included) after Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the original and prequel Star Wars trilogies, although its Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Steelbook combo packs exist at selected retailers, such as Walmart, Best Buy, and Target.
International Premieres[]
- December 13, 2017 (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden)
- December 14, 2017 (Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Israel, Malaysia, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, United Kingdom)
- December 15, 2017 (Bulgaria, Canada, Estonia, Ireland, Japan, Lithuania, Philippines, Romania, Spain, Turkey, Vietnam)
- January 5, 2018 (China)
References[]
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ "The Official Title for Star Wars: Episode VIII Revealed". StarWars.com (January 23, 2017).
- ↑ "Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the Definitive Preview". Vanity Fair (May 30, 2017).
- ↑ http://uk.ign.com/articles/2017/05/24/first-images-of-benicio-del-toro-and-laura-dern-in-star-wars-the-last-jedi
- ↑ "George Lucas Says Star Wars: The Last Jedi Was 'Beautifully Made'". Screen Rant (December 12, 2017).
- ↑ "The Last Jedi Director Clarifies If the Title Is Singular or Plural". ComicBook (September 5, 2017).
External links[]
Star Wars: The Last Jedi on Wikipedia
Star Wars: The Last Jedi on Wookieepedia: The Star Wars Wiki- Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. - The Walt Disney Company
New Star Wars Movies Announced as Disney Enters Agreement to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. on StarWars.com (backup link on Archive.org)
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