FILM · 2017
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi
281 archived facts 8 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
14 Facts on the Deeper Meaning of Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi
- #016
Contains a major spoiler — show
The script established, though not necessarily the final film, that General Leia Organa had begun training as a Jedi shortly after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983). Motherhood and later discord in the Galactic Senate caused her to cut her training short. This explains how she is able to use the Force to create a bubble of air around herself and return to her ship after the bridge of the Raddus is destroyed. An entry in the canonical tie-in Visual Dictionary confirmed this as well, though it is heavily implied at the end of Return of the Jedi.
- #025
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When Snoke interrogates Rey using the Force, the Emperor's theme can be heard playing in the background as the camera moves toward Ren. This recalls Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983), when the Emperor shocks Luke with Force lightning and the camera pans to Vader with the same theme playing. There is an elaborate rumor that Snoke may have been Emperor Palpatine possessed by the Force ghost of Darth Plagueis. Now that The Last Jedi has been released, it is possible that this is a means of foreshadowing Rey's lineage.
- #027
As of 2017, this is the only film in the Skywalker Saga that does not audibly feature the popular phrase "I have a bad feeling about this." Obi-Wan says it in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999); Anakin says it in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002); Obi-Wan says it again in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005); Luke and Han say it in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977); Leia says it in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980); and Han says it again in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) and Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015). Director Rian Johnson has stated that the line is in fact present: it is said by BB-8 in Binary (also known as Droidspeak) when Poe pilots his X-wing to first confront the Dreadnought-class Star Destroyer.
- #074
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The Last Jedi contains several direct callbacks to the second film of the original trilogy, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980): * There is a hasty emergency evacuation of a rebel base. * There is an extended space chase — of the Millennium Falcon by TIE fighters in Empire and of the Resistance capital ship in The Last Jedi. * An untrained but prodigious youth is rapidly trained in the ways of the Force by an older teacher, even though the prequels established that most Jedi are trained from childhood and need 15-20 years to reach Force proficiency. * Several of the protagonists break away from the Resistance/Rebels and flee to an isolated location, where they meet an ally who later turns out to be a traitor. * The main protagonist and antagonist meet and discuss parentage, which ends with an unexpected answer. * A Dark Side villain, while fighting a Light Side Force user, tries to join forces to "rule the Galaxy side by side." * A Jedi apprentice enters a place full of dark Force energy and sees a vision of themselves. * There is a ground battle on a white surface, involving AT-AT walkers, planet-bound speeders and Resistance/Rebel troops in trenches. * The malevolent Sith Lord approaches the heroes near the end, but they manage to escape at the last moment in the Millennium Falcon. It also hints at the trilogy's earlier films: * Episode I - Characters meet a Force-sensitive child who is not part of their main mission and is connected to a race. * Episode II - Rey, like Anakin, learns of her parents' death. * Episode III - Kylo Ren asks her to join his Empire.
- #075
Contains a major spoiler — show
One obvious clue that the Luke Kylo faces on Crait isn't real is that Luke has his lightsaber… but Rey and Kylo destroyed it during their power struggle after Snoke was killed. It no longer exists when Luke has his face-off with Kylo, a good clue to Luke's status.
- #098
The mirror cave was one of the earliest images Rian Johnson had when he first came onto the project.
- #103
The rock that Rey accidentally cuts at the edge of the cliff is a real landmark on Skellig Michael Island known as the "Wailing Woman."
- #117
Benicio Del Toro's character is never given a name in the film. However, merchandise and other sources identified his character as "DJ." These are believed to be a set of initials that Del Toro's character says in the film. More specifically, DJ tells Finn, "Live free, don't join."
- #132
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This marks the third time John Williams has reprised the "TIE Fighter Attack" theme from Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). It was first heard when the Millennium Falcon was pursued by TIE Fighters after Obi-Wan's death, and it returned in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) when Lando piloted the Falcon toward the second Death Star while also being chased by TIE Fighters. In The Last Jedi, the theme comes back when Chewbacca flies the Falcon through the caves beneath Crait while being pursued by TIE Fighters.
- #135
Contains a major spoiler — show
One of the things that reveals that Luke on Crait (his confrontation with Kylo Ren) is not actually there is the fact that the lightsaber is at his side… Rey's saber had in fact been destroyed during her struggle with Kylo after Snoke was killed.
- #141
Contains a major spoiler — show
The idea of Luke returning as a Force projection was necessary in order to have him visit Leia and confront Kylo without it ending as expected. Rian Johnson knew he could not kill Kylo and did not want Kylo to kill Luke. He wanted Luke's death to be peaceful in the end and the exact opposite of Han's in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015).
- #160
The idea that Luke would throw the lightsaber seemed logical to Rian Johnson. It came from thinking about why Luke would be on this remote island in the first place. "He knows his friends are fighting this good fight. He knows there's danger in the galaxy, and he's exiled himself so far away," Johnson stated. He knew the answer could not be mere cowardice, but instead something more positive.
- #201
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Ralph Ineson is listed in the credits as 'Senior First Order Officer,' but most of his role was cut from the final film. A deleted scene shows him suspecting Finn (John Boyega) and his group as the hyperspace tracker passes through Snoke's ship. He tries to confront them, but they board an elevator and quickly lose him. This scene can be found in the bonus material on the BluRay release.
- #252
The mirror scene in which Rey seeks the truth about her identity 'mirrors' a scene in the final act of Citizen Kane (1941), in which Kane appears after wrecking one of the rooms at Xanadu and utters the iconic word 'rosebud'.
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