Yesterday, LucasFilm finally made it official, announcing thatStar Wars 8would now be known asStar Wars: The Last Jedi. The full title will likely be the precursor to the first trailer, which has been rumored to debut in the first quarter of this year, with some believing it will debut duringStar WarsCelebration in Orlando this April. To help pass the time between now and then, directorRian Johnsontook to Instagram earlier today, revealing that he placed the title into the movie today for the first time. Here’s what he had to say in a brief statement.
“Felt so good to drop this into the cut this morning.”
TheInstgramphoto was taken from the edit bay, where fans can only see the very top of the crawl, reading “Episode VIII The Last Jedi.” We can also see anR2-D2model tucked away into a corner, below one of the speakers, but there doesn’t seem to be any story clues that can be gleaned from this image. Just before this title was revealed, though, the director teased that it had been in place since he first started writing the script.
Just a few weeks before the title was revealed,Rian Johnsonrevealed in an interview thatThe Last Jediwas the title of the very first script draft he wrote. Before the title reveal, there were two rumored titles that leaked way back in April,Star Wars: Echoes of the Dark SideandStar Wars: The Tale of the Jedi Temple, which both surfaced after Disney filed trademark applications for those titles. They could be for any number of different projects, such as novels, comics or video games, but the studio has not yet revealed what these titles will in fact be used for.
As for who actually isThe Last Jedi, that answer was seemingly teased all throughoutStar Wars: The Force Awakens. The opening crawl referred toMark Hamill’sLuke Skywalkeras “the last Jedi, and there is also a line from Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), where he calls Skywalker the Last Jedi. However, if you take this title into account with recent plot rumors, it could mean that Rey may in fact be the Last Jedi, which could hint that Luke Skywalker may be killed off in this story.
While Disney and LucasFilm have yet to release any official story details, one of the most prominent rumors teased that, after arriving on Ahch-To, Rey (Daisy Ridley) begins her Jedi training with Luke Skywalker, in a story line that mirrors Luke’s own training at the hands of Yoda inEmpire Strikes Back. Much like Luke, Rey reportedly leaves before finishing her training, when she senses that her friends Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) are in danger, after they’ve been taken by Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), as part of a trap to lure her out of hiding. It’s possible that, by the end of this film, she may have completed her training and become The Last Jedi. Even if Luke isn’t killed off, Rey would still technically be The Last Jedi after finishing her training. While we wait for confirmation about what this title could mean, take a look at the edit bay photo fromStar Wars: The Last Jedi.
