*SPOILERS FOR STAR WARS EPISODE VII and REBELS SHOW BELOW*
About one week ago, the officials behind the marketing team of everything involving the Star Wars brand decided to release the subtitle for the upcoming eighth episode in the iconic film saga. Many fans speculated that we wouldn't know the official subtitle until April when the annual "Star Wars Celebration" commences but information was shared earlier than expected. As with everything in this universe no matter how minuscule, details are analyzed to the last letter especially subtitles because they tend to enlighten people with a basic idea of what the next story will be. So, the big question on everybody's minds is, "who is the last Jedi?"
The first answer most fans gravitate toward is the moisture farmer turned Jedi knight known as Luke Skywalker. As evident within the previous film known as "The Force Awakens," both the opening textual crawl and evil antagonist Snoke refer to Luke as the last Jedi. And according to what we know as of now, he truly is the only remaining Jedi that is still alive during the present time of the Star Wars universe. Everyone else has either died, become a force ghost, or retreated to unknown locations we have yet to discover. The only character within the canon I think of first involving unknown fates, is Kanan Jarrus but most fans assume his fate was decided before the events of the original film. One would think if he was alive, that he'd help the Rebellion during the events of the original trilogy. He did help start the rebellion in the first place, after all. What we know as of now with Luke Skywalker however, is that he attempted to train a plethora of kids within a Jedi Academy but efforts failed when one student (Kylo Ren most likely) took the road of betrayal. On this traitor's road of betrayal, he or she took the lives of every last student remaining which is why Luke went to Ahch-To. If you don't know what Ahch-To is, that is the planet he found on by Rey at the end of the last episodic film.
Next we have Rey, a new character to the world of Star Wars that we don't know much about just yet. We do know that she was left on Jakku for reasons unknown and she is extremely force sensitive. Her force sensitivities are so strong that one has to wonder how she's as skilled as she is, but that's a thought that'll hopefully be explored in episodes VIII and IX. The subtitle of the next film could be referring to her because she will seemingly train with Luke Skywalker to become a Jedi herself. Her use of the infamous Skywalker lightsaber during the climax of The Force Awakens makes light of this both figuratively and literally. Director Rian Johnson could certainly throw audiences for a loop in December, but it does appear that Rey is the main hero of this new trilogy of films. I have my own speculative ideas of why Rey is as powerful as she is and why she was left on that desert planet with no memory of her past but my thoughts would not give credence to her being a "Jedi." It would, at hindsight though, make sense if she was the one to receive the baton passed on by the hero of the past.
And then there's the last idea of speculation that involves just about anyone else who has potential to be force sensitive. Many people have discussed the fact that the word "Jedi" is both singular and plural. So perhaps the subtitle is referring to both Luke Skywalker and Rey. Or maybe it's referring to them along with other characters we don't know just yet. What if characters like Finn or Poe Dameron have force sensitivity for potential Jedi training, but they don't know it yet? Finally, how crazy would it be if Kylo Ren broke through to the light side of the force? After the damage he's done to both the galaxy and hearts of Han Solo fans worldwide, it seems like an impossibility, but if it makes sense for the story then why not?
Discussions on who the last Jedi is, are discussions birthed from the revelation of a movie title. Only Star Wars could make such ridiculous speculation go sporadic based on little to nothing. But that's not to say it isn't fun for all the fans out there who anticipate these movies! More information as well as the first trailer for The Last Jedi are not far far away meaning we'll have much more to speculate on for the latest Star Wars film very soon.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi releases on December 15th, 2017.
