12 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' Questions We Need Answered Immediately
Now that you've finally seen Star Wars: The Last Jedi you probably have a few questions and a whole lot of emotions. Directed by Rian Johnson, the latest entry in the Star Wars saga has everything that makes going to the movies such an event: shocking revelations, heart-pounding action, memorable character moments, heartfelt humor, and real, emotional stakes.
As the second film in a trilogy, it progresses the story, the characters, and their conflicts while setting up the major showdown to come. Of course it also left us wanting more answers. So without further ado, let's talk about those questions:
Spoilers for The Last Jedi past this point. Consider yourself warned.
Where does the Resistance go from here?
In The Last Jedi, the Resistance is nearly depleted after hemorrhaging its resources and losing a majority of its forces in battle against the First Order. But General Leia Organa (the late Carrie Fisher) and the dozen or so Rebels who still remain have something more powerful than numbers and starfighters: hope. Or, as Amilyn Holdo (Laura Dern) so eloquently phrased it: the spark that will light the fire that will burn the First Order down. After a narrow escape from Crait, the scrappy rebels aboard the Millennium Falcon need to regroup. Now that Rey (Daisy Ridley) has emerged as the face of the Rebellion, as Luke Skywalker did all those years ago, maybe it won't be as difficult to find new recruits. After all, we know other Force-sensitive individuals are out there.
Since Lucasfilm has confirmed that Fisher will not be digitally recreated in J.J. Abrams's Episode IX, a significant time jump is likely in order. (Will they send Leia on an important diplomatic mission, or will she have died in the interim?) This will give the Resistance and its new leader, Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), time to grow. If Rey did leave Ahch-To with the Journal of the Whills in her cargo (after a second viewing I can confirm that she did!), then it's feasible that the next time we see her she'll be training others to use the Force.
How did Leia survive space?
There's a harrowing moment in The Last Jedi when the bridge is attacked and General Leia is flung out into the cold, quiet nothingness of space. (RIP Admiral Ackbar.) She appears frozen, floating in the darkness, until a single flinch awakens her. From there, Leia uses the Force to guide herself back onto the ship. As Anakin Skywalker's daughter, Leia has always been Force-sensitive — she communicated with Luke telepathically in the original trilogy (and in a key scene in The Last Jedi) — but this is the first time we've seen her use her Force powers. And it was awesome.
Who was Supreme Leader Snoke?
And does it even matter? The Last Jedi takes a lot of risks, but it's most brazen is the death of Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis). After all the fan theories and rampant speculation, Snoke was callously sliced in half by his very own protégé. It seems his entire existence was little more than a red herring intended inspire countless Reddit threads. The film doesn't offer any details about the Supreme Leader of the First Order outside of the fact that he had an affinity for gold lamé loungewear and the color red. Still, Snoke's shadow will undoubtedly loom over an increasingly unhinged Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) in Episode IX. He was the one who recruited Ben Solo to the Dark Side — that's bound to leave a mark.
So... Rey's parents were total nobodies?
During an emotional exchange between Rey and Kylo Ren, the truth about her parentage is revealed: Rey's parents weren't Skywalkers or Palpatines or Kenobis — they were poor, drunk nobodies from Jakku. Chances are you've either going to love this reveal — or absolutely hate it. Some might even choose to remain in a state of denial until Episode IX. But it makes sense.
The question of Rey's parentage has been lingering since the scavenger was first introduced in The Force Awakens. In fact, when MTV News caught up with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy earlier this year, she said Rey's parentage was "integral" to the Star Wars saga. And it is. What could be more inspiring than a scrappy nobody from Jakku realizing her full potential and harnessing her power to save the galaxy? Not every hero needs a destiny to fulfill; some can create their own.
The film reestablishes the Force as an ubiquitous energy field that "surrounds us and penetrates us," binding the galaxy together just as Obi-Wan Kenobi once described. This of course subverts the prequels' idea that a living organism's midi-chlorian count is the only gauge of Force-sensitivity. The Force can manifest in anybody.
And for all you naysayers, as Kylo Ren himself said, "You have to break with the past. Kill it, if you have to."
Will Luke Skywalker return as a Force ghost?
After Luke used the last of his energy to mystically project his image from Ahch-To to Crait — where he fought off Kylo Ren to give what was left of the Resistance time to escape — the Jedi Master disappears and becomes one with the Force like Obi-Wan Kenobi did decades ago in A New Hope. But as any Star Wars fan knows, a Jedi Master is never truly gone. Both Obi-Wan and Yoda appeared to Luke after their deaths — Yoda even shows up on Ahch-To to give Luke a bit of advice about Rey — and so it would only made sense for Luke to do the same. That being said, I don't think Rey will be the only student of Luke's to receive a visit from the scruffy Force ghost. In their final exchange, Luke warned Kylo that he'd never leave him.
Is Justin Theroux's expert slicer actually important?
In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo, actor Justin Theroux appears on Canto Bight as the master codebreaker Maz Kanata recommends to Poe. Finn (John Boyega) and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) were on a mission to track him down and get him to break into The Supremacy. While Star Wars has a history of surprising cameos, there was something unfinished about Theroux's appearance as the best slicer (read: hacker) in the galaxy. He couldn't even be bothered to pry his eyes away from the gambling table to notice the disruption Finn and Rose caused. Will we see this pin-wearing hotshot again?
Is this the last we've seen of Benicio Del Toro's DJ?
Speaking of hotshots, the last time we saw of DJ, the scoundrel had cut a deal with the First Order to save his skin and escape The Supremacy with his bounty. While it's not confirmed that he survived Holdo's epic offensive attack on Snoke's Star Destroyer, it seems a bit wasteful to cast a commanding actor like Del Toro in such a throwaway part. He demonstrated the morally gray areas of war — and pulled a Lando Calrissian-sized fast one on Finn and Rose — so maybe there's a redemption arc in his future.
Was Ben Solo always troubled, or did Snoke seduce him over to the Dark Side?
Again, it would be nice if eventually the relationship between Snoke and Kylo was explained in full. We know that Snoke was powerful enough to infiltrate Kylo and Rey's minds and bind them together with a deep, telepathic link à la Luke and Leia, but how did he seduce Kylo in the first place? As the only son of Han and Leia — and therefore the only direct heir of Darth Vader — Ben Solo was obviously an enticing weapon for the First Order. But how did Snoke get into Ben's mind and corrupt him? Or was Ben always a conflicted, tortured soul? Luke did say that Rey, like Ben, had an abundance of raw energy — and a natural pull toward the Dark Side. Kylo's evolution from a petulant, confused pawn to a full-fledged, deranged villain is equally as compelling as Rey's hero's journey.
Who were the students that Ben took with him to the Dark Side?
Speaking of, Luke also revealed that Ben Solo didn't go to the Dark Side alone. He brought a few of Luke's other students with him — and killed the rest, naturally. So who were these other former Jedi students, and where have they been during the war? Are those the so-called Knights of Ren we met in The Force Awakens? It seems like they would come in handy against the Resistance. When it comes to the First Order, we really only "know" Kylo Ren, General Hux (who's nothing more than a walking punch line at this point), and Captain Phasma, so Episode IX could potentially introduce more members of the Order.
Did Captain Phasma survive?
If she's not being thrown down a garbage chute, then she's being smacked in the face by a blaster. Captain Phasma just can't catch a break. (And, hey, maybe the entirety of the First Order is just incompetent?) After a failed execution attempt, Phasma takes matters into her own hands, facing off against the man formerly known as FN-2187 mano a mano for an intense rematch. Finn manages to get the upper hand and knock Phasma to the ground, where she eventually plummets into a fiery explosion on The Supremacy. While Phasma has defied the odds and survived explosions before, that look she gave Finn through the hole in her chrome mask seemed pretty final.
Does Finn like Rey the way Rose likes Finn?
It wouldn't be a Star Wars saga without a hint of romance. In her critically wounded state, Rose confessed her feelings for Finn and kissed him. It was an unexpected, romantic moment between the pair, who up until that moment had risked certain death together at least three times. As for Finn, he clearly cares for Rose, as evidenced by the way he tenderly wrapped that blanket around her on the Falcon, but there might be some unresolved feelings between him and Rey, as indicated by their emotional reunion. (Rey and Poe's first official meet-cute was also quite electric.) Since Rey and Finn spent The Last Jedi apart, we're going to have to wait and see how this all shakes out in Episode IX.
Is Chewbacca now a vegan?
Every character experiences growth in The Last Jedi, even Chewbacca. In fact, he learns one of the most important lessons of them all: Porgs are friends, not food. Chewie's love-hate relationship with porgs is so important to the Star Wars brand that they're even getting their very own children's book spinoff, aptly titled Chewie and the Porgs.