Ever since the official title for Star Wars: The Last Jedi was unveiled, fans have buzzed over who “the last Jedi” actually will be. Is it Luke? Will Rey be the last Jedi? Is “Jedi” plural? Today, the answer has finally been put to rest, for now, in a revealing new interview with director Rian Johnson.
Speaking to the The New York Times on Wednesday, Johnson spoke candidly about the filmmaking process for Star Wars before getting into some nitty gritty stuff about his next installment in the new trilogy. When asked who the “Last Jedi” is, Johnson said flat out that the opening crawl of 2015’s The Force Awakens already revealed it.
“Luke Skywalker, right now, is the last Jedi,” Johnson said. “There’s always wiggle room in these movies — everything is from a certain point of view — but coming into our story, he is the actual last of the Jedi. And he’s removed himself and is alone on this island, for reasons unknown.” Obviously, that “wiggle room” heavily implies that Luke is the last Jedi for now, and that someone else — maybe Rey — could become the last Jedi by the end of the movie.
For those with foggy memories, the opening crawl of The Force Awakens began with these two sentences: “Luke Skywalker has vanished. In his absence, the sinister FIRST ORDER has risen from the ashes of the Empire and will not rest until Skywalker, the last Jedi, has been destroyed.”
Johnson also confirmed what most fans have already guessed: That it’s Luke’s (Mark Hamill) voice speaking ominously at the end of the trailer for The Last Jedi, where he says: “I only know one truth. It’s time for the Jedi… to end.”
“That’s him,” confirms Johnson. “It sounds pretty dire. That’s something that we’re definitely going to dig into. The heart of the movie is Luke and Rey. It follows all the other characters, but its real essence is the development of the two of them. And it’s absolutely tied up in that question of, What is Luke’s attitude toward the Jedi?”
In The Empire Strikes Back, Obi-Wan told Luke that truths are all about perspectives and points of view. For now, it’s safe to understand that Luke is the last Jedi, but depending how the events of the film play out, the title could mean something way different by the end.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi will be released on December 15.
