Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing Rian Johnson's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
- The original script for Star Wars: The Last Jedi was written over a decade before production finally began in 2017.
- Many of the practical effects used in the climax were achieved without any CGI.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a 2017 American epic space opera film written and directed by Rian Johnson, the eighth episode in the Skywalker saga and the most divisive Star Wars film in the franchise's history. The film follows multiple storylines: Rey travels to the remote planet Ahch-To to convince the exiled Luke Skywalker, played by Mark Hamill, to rejoin the fight against the First Order; Poe Dameron clashes with Vice Admiral Holdo over military strategy as the Resistance fleet is slowly destroyed; and Finn and Rose Tico undertake a covert mission to disable the First Order's tracking technology. The Last Jedi was a deliberately subversive entry in the saga, with Rian Johnson systematically challenging audience expectations about how a Star Wars story should unfold.
Luke Skywalker's characterization as a disillusioned, self-exiled failure who has rejected the Jedi Order divided fans sharply โ some praised Johnson for adding genuine complexity to a beloved character, while others felt it betrayed the hero's established arc. The film's thematic statement that heroism can come from anyone, regardless of lineage โ embodied in Rey's initially revealed parentage as "nobody" โ was both the film's most radical idea and its most contested. The Holdo maneuver, in which a Resistance cruiser jumps to lightspeed through the First Order fleet in complete silence, created one of the most visually stunning moments in cinema history.
The Last Jedi earned $1.33 billion worldwide and received universally positive critical reviews, even as audience reception remained fiercely polarized. Mark Hamill delivered the most critically acclaimed performance of his career as the haunted, conflicted Luke Skywalker.
