What The Last Jedi Title Means For Rey & Luke Skywalker

It's official: We finally know the title of the next Star Wars film in the Skywalker saga. Disney is prepping Star Wars: The Last Jedi for release in December, but what does the title of Episode VIII really mean? There's no way the studio is lifting the lid on the movie's secrets before it arrives in theaters, but while we wait for the next installment in the franchise to arrive, let's dive into some of the best theories.

Considering the final scene of The Force Awakens saw our young hero Rey finally track down Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), the most obvious answer to the "Last Jedi" question is that it means good ol' Luke. The main series has always been the Skywalker saga, and with Luke set to rejoin the cast, he's the most obvious option on the roster. He's a legend throughout the universe (well, at least among the people who have actually heard of the Jedi), and he's typically held up as the final vestige of the Jedi movement. There's also the fact that in The Force Awakens, Snoke called Luke the "last Jedi" when talking about him, and J.J. Abrams even calls him "the last Jedi" in the opening crawl of the film. So the smart money is certainly on Luke—but he isn't the only option.

If they're looking to get a little subversive with the title, it could certainly refer to Rey (Daisy Ridley). She took to the powers of the Force surprisingly fast in The Force Awakens, and could potentially be a new Jedi leader to take up the mantle from Luke for a new generation. If it refers to Rey, it means she'll play a key role not just in the current trilogy, but the entire Star Wars saga as a whole. If there's a "last" Jedi, it represents the end of an era in this universe. The Jedi have been on death watch for a while, but literally introducing a "last" Jedi could mean it's really over.

Of course, Disney could be pulling a bait and switch with this ominous title. Maybe it refers to someone else entirely. It's a big ol' universe out there, and you'd think there might still be a few more Jedi in hiding. Looking to Star Wars: Rebels, you have a few more Jedi kicking around, including Kanan Jarrus and his young protégé Ezra Bridger—not to mention the (currently MIA) Ahsoka Tano first introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. It's been a few decades since that pre-A New Hope story, but it stands to reason some of them could still be around 30 years later. Assuming Ezra hasn't turned to the Dark Side or died, he'd just be in his late 40s at this point, right?

This is where things could get interesting. Instead of focusing on a singular Jedi, it's possible the title isn't referring to a specific person, but a whole group. What if Luke and Rey start, or find, a new group of Jedi who rise from the ashes to take on the First Order? Instead of taking on the vibe of finality, it's also possible "The Last Jedi" is the birth of a new order of Jedi to save the galaxy once and for all. Remember, there's still another sequel coming after The Last Jedi, and it'd be hard to have a Star Wars film without at least one or two Jedi.

He might be on the Dark Side now, but don't forget Ben Solo started out as a pupil of Luke's—you know, before he went rogue and started killing everyone. Han gave redeeming his son his best shot in The Force Awakens, and although Ren decided to double down on evil, this is a franchise that's familiar with the idea of redemption. Heck, even Darth Vader himself found a bit of good deep down by the time the original trilogy faded to black.

The Star Wars franchise has always been very methodical about its use of subtitles, all the way down to the actual color used for the film logos. For keen-eyed fans, there's something that definitely stands out about The Last Jedi: The main logo is colored red, and that likely means bad news (it's also a nod to the original Revenge of the Jedi title card before the title was changed to Return of the Jedi). In more recent history, Lucasfilm has used the red lettering as a nod to the Sith in specific episodes of The Clone Wars, which means The Last Jedi could definitely be taking a dark turn.