Yesterday Lucasfilm announced the title of Star Wars Episode VIII as The Last Jedi. The internet instantly wound itself into a whirlwind of speculation about what bearing the title would have on the as-yet-unknown plot of the film. So hungry are we now for any tidbits of information that three simple words are be debated and amplified to extraordinary proportions. More of that coming up later.
Moments following the announcement the director tweeted this:
Not as excited as the legion of Star Wars fans, buoyed by a stellar turn from Gareth Edwards’ Rogue One both critically and commercially, to have a great new title. The Force Awakens was a turning point for the saga. It was a search for Luke Skywalker, and the final moments revealed that the last jedi (as revealed in the title crawl) was found, and a new story was about to begin.
Hamill talked briefly to the Associate Press about his reaction to the title finally being out in the open. He confirmed that director Rian Johnson had the title from the first draft of the script, and offers a few choice words about how the title conveys something of the film itself. He’s wisely side-stepping around the spoiler minefield however it’s interesting to have a comment from the man who may be the character the title refers to.
As many internet commentators pointed out in the minutes following the title’s announcement the word ‘Jedi’ can be a singular or a plural – meaning that Luke and Rey constitute the titular Force users, rather than just Skywalker Jr. Here’s Hamill’s first reaction to news that the title was finally out there.
Those keeping up with the scant information on Episode VIII will remember that Rian Johnson revealed some of the films he asked the cast and crew to watch at the start of production. Hideo Gosha’s 1964 Three Outlaw Samurai was one of these, so bag yourself the Criterion Collection and check it out and see if Hamill’s ‘samurai’ mention means more than it seems. There’s that amplification we were talking about.
Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi will be released on the 15th of December 2017.
