Cue John Williams' iconic score, roll the opening crawl and light up your lightsabers, because Star Wars: The Last Jedi has finally hit cinemas. With some serious hype surrounding the eighth main series movie for the acclaimed space opera series, the Skywalker saga once again continues with another dark tale of rebellions and shady organizations vying for control of a troubled galaxy. Disney has thrown its full might behind The Last Jedi, which hopes to step out from the shadow of The Force Awakens to carve its own thrilling instalment in the franchise.
As with every movie these days, the internet was rife with spoilers and theories about everything from who is the titular last Jedi to who was undoubtedly going to perish during the movie's runtime. An even bigger all-star cast was back, and Rian Johnson's spectacular entry to the series kept us on the edge of our seats as the story played out in nail-biting fashion. However, after over a year of guessing and trawling Reddit posts, what were we right and wrong about when it came to The Last Jedi's plethora of rumors. With that in mind, here are The Last Jedi: 8 Rumors That Were False (And 7 That Were True).
15 YODA APPEARS - TRUE
It was rumored that several Force ghosts would appear in The Last Jedi; however, Master Yoda was the only one who popped by from Luke Skywalker's past. After first appearing in The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda has gone on to be one of the best-loved Star Wars characters of all time. Thankfully, Lucas' prequel trilogy made Yoda a major player as a back-flipping lightsaber-wielder, but who expected his TLJ cameo?
Frank Oz was once again back to voice that pointy-eared riddle-talker, with Yoda stealing the crown as best minor character. When a disheartened Luke went to destroy the sacred texts, that green machine came to offer counsel. While it may have looked like Skywalker was far past the need of a mentor, Yoda appeared to offer a "new hope" to the fallen Jedi. But will he be back for Episode IX?
14 PHASMA TAKES OFF HER HELMET - FALSE
Oh Gwendoline Christie, what a waste in the (it turns out) disposable role of Captain Phasma. After a maligned appearance in The Force Awakens, the Game of Thrones alum was back as a metal-covered Captain Phasma. One of the most divisive parts of the new trilogy, Phasma was left to die in a trash compactor. However, for whatever reason, the First Order high-ranker was back to settle old scores in The Last Jedi.
Various promo images had shown Phasma without her helmet to show off Christie's formidable stature, but when it came to the actual movie, all we got was a glimpse of her bright eyes. Finn did best his nemesis, but she kept her face concealed the entire time. To be fair though, fans were teased the ultimate smackdown between Finn and ol' Chrome Dome, and we weren't left disappointed.
13 LEIA USES THE FORCE - TRUE
The trailers for TLJ preempted some major losses, and for a while, it looked like Leia Organa would be one of them. As the First Order closed in on the Rebel scum, the fleet of ships was massively damaged by Kylo Ren and his forces. A redemptive Ren stopped short of killing his mother (after his father), but another TIE fighter shot a devastating shot to the main rebel cruiser. The entire bridge was sucked out into the abyss and death was inevitable.
While Admiral Ackbar kicked the bucket *sob*, Leia was saved at the last minute. The gracious General may have seemed lost to the depths of outer space, but Leia used her Force-sensitive powers to pull herself back toward the ship. Admittedly, we never got to see Leia swing a lightsaber in the movies, but at least Carrie Fisher was saved from a schticky death for the best princess ever — sorry Disney.
12 FINN AND POE'S ROMANCE - FALSE
Love was in the air during Episode VIII, but it wasn't between the galaxy's two biggest heroes. Introduced in The Force Awakens, Finn and Poe shared a budding bromance which led the Hollywood rumor mill to turn toward an LGBT Star Wars storyline. However, the two unlikely allies continued a blossoming friendship (but nothing more) during the runtime of TLJ.
Poe seemed to have a bit of a thing for Laura Dern's superb Admiral Holdo, while Finn locked lips with Kellie Marie Tran's Rose. With Rose set to become the franchise's latest big addition, expect her and Finn to become the new Han and Leia of Disney's sequel trilogy, unless that little spark between Rey and Poe blossoms into a flame. Some of us may carry on shipping John Boyega and Oscar Isaac sharing more than just a scene together, but sorry guys, let's put this one on the back-burner.
11 WE FIND OUT WHO REY'S PARENTS ARE - TRUE
Another child of Han and Leia? The offspring of Supreme Leader Snoke? A clone of Luke? All turned out to be false when it came to the lineage of Rey [INSERT LAST NAME HERE], but we did find out who the Jakku junker's parents really were.
As Rey took a dive into Luke Skywalker's dark place, a look in some creepy Harry Potter mirror offered no clues, but it was up to Supreme Leader Snoke and Kylo Ren to drop the bombshell that Rey really is just some girl who no one noticed before. Sold into a life of destitute to fund her parent's addictive lifestyle, Rey's mom and dad were merely a couple of paupers who sold her as an unwanted child. While there could be a double twist to this in Episode IX, for the meantime it looks like Lucasfilm was just building up its own hype!
10 SNOKE'S IDENTITY REVEALED - FALSE
There were some truly amazing fan theories on who Supreme Leader Snoke really was. From Chancellor Finis Valorum to that stormtrooper who hit their head back in A New Hope, we heard them all. However, alongside the Rey reveal, long-time Star Wars fans will likely be a little underwhelmed by the scar-headed villain's true identity — mainly, he didn't have one.
There was no big twist on who Snoke was, no exploration of his Elite Praetorian Guard, and while his throne room looked visually stunning, he came across as a lackluster version of the Emperor who had been damaged in a fire. Snoke may have been the de facto big bad of The Last Jedi, but apart from his shocking death, will anyone really remember him up there with the greats like Vader and Kylo Ren?
9 LUKE IS IN EXILE BECAUSE OF HIS ACADEMY - TRUE
The rocky outcrop of Ahch-To may seem like an odd place to set up camp, but Luke Skywalker's isolated island became one of the biggest locations from the movie. The Force Awakens ended with Rey facing the forgotten Jedi Master, but rolled the credits before Luke got to say a word. Hamill finally got his time to shine as a crotchety shadow of his former self, and originally refused to teach Rey because of what had happened in his past.
It turned out that a concerned Luke had momentarily considered striking down Kylo Ren before he could become another Vader, inadvertently sending him on the path to the dark side. Ren burned down Luke's Jedi school and took a handful of students to become his Knights of Ren. A clearly damaged Luke then sent himself into exile to prevent it from ever happening again.
8 BB-8 BATTLES AN EVIL BB-8 - FALSE
It just wouldn't be a Star Wars movie without a cute line of merchandisable droids to come with it, and The Last Jedi carried on the tradition. The various expanded universe comics have introduced evil doppelgangers for series stalwarts R2-D2 and C-3PO, but this time, BB-8 got his own villainous counterpart. Who is excited to wake up on Christmas day to find BB-9E rolling around their living room?
Sadly, BB-9E's on-screen performance seemed to be running low on batteries, and pulled a bit of a Phasma. The bad ball promised so much and delivered so little. What's worse, BB-8 and BB-9E didn't even get their own grudge match duel to the death. The devilish droid beeped around for all of about two seconds and presumably perished alongside the rest of the crew and bots on Snoke's ship.
7 KYLO REN BETRAYS SNOKE - TRUE
One of the biggest rumors heading into Episode VIII was that Rey could turn Kylo Ren back to the side of good. This one technically seemed true, but was quickly retracted toward the climax of the movie. As Snoke used his torturous Sith methods on Rey, she desperately tried to fight his power and strike him down. However, while Rey couldn't deliver the killer blow, it was Snoke's own student who did the deed.
In a shock turn, Kylo Ren betrayed his master and promptly sliced him in half with Luke Skywalker's lightsaber (ouch). With the rebellion all but destroyed and Snoke lying in pieces, Ren offered his hand to Rey and declared that they should start a new reign over the galaxy for the dark side. Thankfully, Daisy Ridley's heroine managed to swerve her temptation toward evil and carried on her path to righteousness.
6 FINN IS A JEDI - FALSE
Continuing his role as a main character, John Boyega's Finn had just as much screen time in The Last Jedi as The Force Awakens. Given his own subplot and a trip to Canto Bight, Finn struck up more than just a friendship with Rose; however, while Rey was undertaking her Jedi training, Finn was left to battle his foes sans lightsaber.
The whole title of The Last Jedi was a mystery, and some thought that the storyline would also see Finn learn the ways of the Force. Boyega didn't make so much as a rock twinge, proving that Rey could be the last hope for the Jedi. It was royally debunked that Finn is a Jedi, but it is technically an idea that J.J. Abrams could pick up in Episode IX.
5 LUKE TURNS TO THE DARK SIDE - FALSE
The whole premise of The Last Jedi was a look inward at the balance between right and wrong. We've already covered how Rey was almost lured to the dark side, but a more popular theory was the Luke Skywalker would finally succumb to his inner demons. Return of the Jedi had already stuck Luke in black and seen him toy with the idea of joining his father and the Emperor, but to have him go full villain in The Last Jedi would've been one hell of a twist.
Admittedly, Luke was a lot darker than he had been in previous instalments, and the movie did cover his act of nearly killing Kylo Ren. Apart from that, though, the bearded brute still remains one of the biggest heroes of the piece. Imagine the outrage of one of cinema's greatest protagonists into a villain!
4 LUKE DIES - TRUE
Luke escaped the movie without a temptation of darkness, he sadly didn't escape with his life. It was 50/50 on whether The Last Jedi would see Mark Hamill's legend kick the bucket, and some were right that Luke's time to die was coming. As he confronted Ren on the salty planet of Crait, it looked almost certain that the aged Jedi might not come out of this alive. One of the biggest shockers was when Ren slid toward Luke and appeared to slice him in half with his hilted lightsaber.
That crafty Luke revealed that it was all a Force ghost trick, with him happily sitting on Ahch-To. In a double twist, Luke finally gave up his life and pulled a Yoda from Return of the Jedi. Fading off into the ether, Luke is no longer here in physical form, but Hamill will surely be back as a spirit for Episode IX.
3 LEIA DIES - FALSE
Speaking of death, there was a tragic tone to The Last Jedi. With Carrie Fisher sadly passing away last year, Episode VIII would be the last movie she ever filmed. Lucasfilm had toyed with using Leia's likeness for Episode IX, and with her set to be arguably the biggest character in the first draft of the script, it made sense to go down this route. However, Kathleen Kennedy confirmed that CGI will not be used to recreate Leia.
The next logical step would be the tough choice to kill Leia in The Last Jedi with some reshoots. However, as a legacy to Fisher, Leia proudly walked out of the runtime with a new-found spirit for her rebellion. It was the right thing to do as justice to the character, but it now leaves a question mark over what happens with Leia in Episode IX. Keep em' peeled Star Wars fans.
2 REY IS THE LAST JEDI - TRUE
So there we have it, after months of speculation and theorizing, Ridley's Rey was revealed as the last Jedi. Luke Skywalker had promised never to train another student, but the stubborn sorcerer relented to teach Rey all he knew. Seeing her wield the famous lightsaber, Rey is a more than worthy hero to carry on the legacy of the Jedi and keep fighting the good fight.
As Kylo Ren prepared to strike down Luke in rage, Skywalker said the immortal words that he isn't the last Jedi, but that Rey is. It was a poignant moment of the movie, but not a twist that many hadn't already clocked. Sure, there could've been a more imaginative choice for who gets to hold that title, but it makes sense that Rey is the last Jedi... or is she?
1 REY IS THE LAST JEDI - FALSE
But wait a minute, Rey isn't actually the last Jedi. Just before the credits rolled, the movie headed back to Canto Bight and the stables of the Fathier creatures. The stable slaves who had featured in the dramatic chase scene were back to tell the story of Luke, Leia, Rey and Ren. Effectively igniting a new fire under the rebellion, it looks like The Last Jedi is just the beginning of Force-sensitive users tooling up against the First Order.
The very final shot was one of the kids preparing to sweep up, using the Force to bring the brush to him. So, the Jedi are clearly still out there and undoubtedly preparing for Episode IX. Luke's academy may have been burned to the ground, but who's betting Rey sets up her own school for gifted youngsters in the next movie?