10 Things I’m looking forward to seeing in The Last Jedi

Disney buying out Lucasfilm was one of the best things that could’ve happened to me. As a lifelong fan of the series it was great to return to the stars in a film that gave me basically everything I wanted from it. Now, the time has come for a new chapter in the series and we’ve had very little in the way of trailers and pictures beyond just a few here and there so here is my list of things I want to see in the upcoming film.

Note/Disclaimer : None of these things have been officially confirmed and this is all speculation. That being said, some of these speculations might be spoilery.

10. The State Of The First Order

The Force Awakens really leaves the first order in a flux. With their primary source of power(Starkiller Base) being destroyed where do they go from here? Much of their forces and their top brass(Hux, Phasma, Kylo Ren) survive the battle but they don’t explain anything about their back up plan.

In fact, Supreme Leader Snoke doesn’t even look worried in the final scene. Did he foresee this happening? Which leads me to this question : Why does Snoke only get upset when they mention Rey? Makes you think that she’s more important then what we’re meant to believe.

9. Kylo Ren Training

In multiple books, comics, shows and games we have been shown the dark side training for the Sith or otherwise but we’ve never seen it in films. In The Last Jedi, I believe that we’re going to. Whether from the confirmation that The Last Jedi will take place immediately where The Force Awakens left off or from Snoke’s line about “Time for Kylo Ren to complete his training.” I just can’t see this being something that happens off-screen.

I’m really excited for it cause I think it’ll be just another reason that Rey and Kylo are a perfect counter to each other, even in storyline elements.

8. The Two Major Battles

The trailer doesn’t show us much of these battles but due to different film stills and different scenes that have been shown we know that there will be a large space battle featuring some newer ships…

…and unfortunately might lead to this scene…

…which kills me due to my extreme love of Poe’s awesome X-Wing!

Then there will also be a ground battle featuring new speeders…

against new versions of the AT-AT’s…

It basically looks like Pelennor Fields : Star Wars Edition which makes me incredibly happy. The Battle of Hoth is probably my favorite part of Empire Strikes Back just because of seeing ground troops of the rebellion working as an actual army. I’m really excited to see how Rian Johnson handles these bigger battles in comparison to his intimate character moments which is what I initially know him for.

7. Finn and Rose

One of the newest additions of The Last Jedi is a girl named Rose who is a technical engineer for the Resistance. She views Finn as this epic hero even though he clearly doesn’t see himself that way. He considers himself nothing more than a runner and just wants to leave everything behind. Honestly, no one could blame him for these thoughts due to everything he’s been through with the first order. I think Rose will keep him grounded in the film and help him to realize that he really is a hero.

The above picture also shows them undercover on a Casino style planet called Canto Bight where they’ll have to get information from Benicio Del Toro’s character known only as DJ.

6. Captain Phasma

The only solid complaint I had with The Force Awakens was the diminished role that Captain Phasma had throughout the film, here is a character that was featured prominently throughout the advertising leading up to the film and yet she’s hardly in it.

Now I’m hoping she’ll have a larger role in The Last Jedi and it looks like they’re setting her up for one. She’s currently headlining her own comic that’s wonderfully written by Kelly Thompson and it’s really given us more to think about where Phasma is Concerned. Her character isn’t quite the perfect soldier that we were lead to believe she was but I think it fits perfectly for her and I hope they let Christie bring some of that to the screen.

5. The Knights Of Ren

The mysterious side of Star Wars is something that has always been prevalent but the Knights of Ren are something different entirely. Kylo Ren leads this group but we still don’t know anything about. Are they older than Kylo? Do they have force abilities? Are any of them fallen Jedi? These are things that we’ll hopefully learn soon enough!

4. Rey Vs. Kylo Ren

I honestly don’t know if there’s a better explanation of why I love this movie beyond this : Rey is this self-made woman who had nothing and managed to get along just fine on her own and then she realizes she has these dormant abilities and uses them to help her friends win the day.

Ben Solo is a boy who was the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa. Two of the most important people in the galaxy and I highly doubt that he ever had to want for anything. But what happens when someone tells him “No”? What happens if Luke says “Ben, you can’t do this, you’re walking too close to the dark side.”? I think that is the birthplace of Kylo Ren. He’s spoiled and too powerful, which is what makes him dangerous.

This is why these two characters work so well because they’re perfect models of modern heroes and villains. Rey is someone who’s willing to work through things and Kylo was literally based on fanboys. It’s a brilliant writing strategy to write on what you see around you and that’s why I love both of these characters and why I can’t wait to see where they go from here.

3. Luke’s Disappearance

One of the key elements of this film and what the series really hinges on is where has Luke been and why hasn’t he come back?

Now most people would just say that he left because of his shame over what happened with Ben and the Jedi Academy but I don’t think that’s entirely why he’s stayed away. I think Luke discovered something that he can’t stop protecting. We know that he is at the first Jedi Temple but what else is there? We’ll have to wait to find out.

2. The End Of The Jedi

As I said previously, I think Luke discovered something. I think he knows the truth behind the force and I think in realizing it he also realized that the Jedi are just outdated at this point and I think that he’s ready for Rey to be something else.

The line “It’s so much bigger.” Tells me that he knows immensely more about the force now than anyone before him. I legitimately can’t wait to see what they do with Luke and Rey in this film.

1. Leia’s Finale

This should be obvious. We were all heartbroken to hear about Carrie Fisher’s untimely passing and not just because we were fans of Leia but because they always said that Carrie was the heart and soul of the group. She will be greatly missed from the series.

This does raise many questions for the film though. How are they going to write the story without her character? They’ve already said that she wouldn’t be recreated using CGI like Tarkin was for Rogue One but they can’t just let her leave at a random time in the film.

Whatever their decision, I trust them and know that they wouldn’t do anything that would hurt her legacy.

That’s it for me today, what are you excited to see in The Last Jedi? Let me know in the comments!