10 Things We Want To See From Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Star Wars: The Last Jedi may very well be 2017's most highly anticipated movie, and it's not exactly hard to see why. Continuing the story which kicked off in 2015's $2 billion blockbuster Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rian Johnson is at the helm for this next chapter and a terrific cast has been assembled thanks to new and returning faces. With a first look at the film expected to be with us in time for Star Wars Celebration in April, the curtain will hopefully be pulled back on The Last Jedi in just a couple of months from now. Given Disney's extreme secrecy regarding the project though, we still really have no idea what we're going to get from it. We do, however, have a long list of things we want to see. Star Wars: The Force Awakens left fans with a lot of unanswered questions, many of which this movie needs to answer. So far, it hasn't suffered from half as many plot and concept art leaks as Abrams' film did, but there are definitely a lot of rumours out there pointing towards what may happen. With all that in mind, we've put together 10 things we believe Star Wars: The Last Jedi must do in order for it to be deemed a success. There's a lot riding on it, to be sure, but if it can deliver on most, if not all of this, fans will no doubt leave the theater very pleased. 10) A Proper Send Off For General Leia The tragic passing of Carrie Fisher has led to Disney and Lucasfilm being faced with the prospect of having to find a way to write her iconic characters out of the franchise. It's already been confirmed that CGI won't be used to resurrect her, but it would be wrong to put off dealing with this until Star Wars: Episode IX or by killing her offscreen between the two movies. Honestly, I'm not sure how they can handle the whole thing, but Disney definitely has some time to come up with a few solutions and give Leia the send off she deserves. Her story should be wrapped up here in a definitive fashion, and in a way which honours her legacy. No pressure, then. The studio faces a big challenge with this, to be sure, but it's essential that they find a respectful and memorable way to tackle the character's arc in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. 9) Firm Details On Luke Skywalker's Disappearance Star Wars: The Force Awakens made it clear that Luke Skywalker went into hiding when his nephew Ben turned to the Dark Side and wiped out his apprentices alongside the Knights of Ren. Now, The Last Jedi needs to shed further light on this and flashbacks would be the ideal way to handle things. Those would be a first for the franchise though, and Disney may not want to head down that route. If that's the case, then even just a lengthy explanation from Luke after he first meets Rey would suffice. In many ways, his decision to vanish and let darkness and The First Order spread across the Galaxy was extremely selfish and if nothing else, he should be made to answer for that. The Knights of Ren are also extremely mysterious and whether or not they're still around is irrelevant; we need to learn more about who they are and why they followed Kylo in the first place. With that in mind, a greater exploration of Kylo's relationship with Luke and why he ultimately turned on his uncle would also be welcomed. 8) Supreme Leader Snoke's Identity One of the biggest mysteries to come out of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the identity of Andy Serkis' Supreme Leader Snoke. Rumour has it he'll make a physical appearance in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and with that should come the reveal of his true name (assuming he has one). There are literally countless fan theories out there about who he might be, and regardless of which (if any) prove to be accurate, knowing who he is will make him a much more effective big bad. Why did he turn Kylo Ren and in what way is he tied to the Skywalker family and even the Emperor? Those are just a couple of many questions which an identity reveal could answer, while it would also help to clear up the direction of the franchise moving forward. Some will no doubt love this reveal and some will probably hate it, but either way, we need it to happen. 7) Darth Vader's Castle Rogue One: A Star Wars Story took us to Darth Vader's home on Mustafar, and with concept art for Star Wars: The Force Awakens showing that J.J. Abrams at least contemplated taking us to one of his castles, Star Wars: The Last Jedi needs to pay a visit to the one we've already seen. It's already been teased that it's built around some sort of Sith monument or weaponry and given Kylo Rey's obsession with his grandfather, having him spending time in his home makes an awful lot of sense. Regardless of your thoughts on the prequels, they made Mustafar an iconic and important part of the Star Wars saga, so taking us back there opens the door to a lot of very exciting storytelling possibilities. Linking this movie to the spinoff also establishes that these Anthology films are actually important and makes it clear to viewers that we can expect them to both tell standalone stories and link to the wider mythos. 6) Rey's Jedi Training We already know that Star Wars: The Last Jedi will pick up right where The Force Awakens left off, and with some recent toy packaging making it clear that Rey will once again wield a lightsaber, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that Luke Skywalker is going to start training her. However, that training is not something the movie should gloss over, and it's essential that we delve into it in a pretty significant manner, especially if Rey is to be taken seriously. Many fans were unhappy with seeing how well she fought against Kylo Ren with no previous training, and given that she's going to become the franchise's new lead hero, Star Wars: The Last Jedi must make her earn that, something the prequels glossed over with Anakin and even The Empire Strikes Back rushed through (though, to be fair, it did at least acknowledge the fact Luke didn't complete his training). 5) Podracing It's been reported that Star Wars: The Last Jedi will take us to some sort of gambling planet, and if that's the case, this movie needs to touch on one of the best parts of the prequels. Say what you will about The Phantom Menace, but that podrace was extremely cool and should definitely factor into this sort of location. I'm not saying they should be a massive part of the film, but it would be fantastic to see another podrace get at least a few minutes of screentime; even a shot of them taking place somewhere in the background would be a cool little Easter Egg. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is no doubt going to be a busy affair with a lot of ramifications for the franchise, but the chance to touch on a key part of Star Wars history should not be ignored, especially if it delivers a fun and thrilling sequence just like The Phantom Menace did all those years ago. Who knows, we could even see someone like Finn or Poe compete? 4) Luke Skywalker In Action Mark Hamill may be a lot older than when he last played Luke Skywalker, but it would be a missed trick for this movie to not have him ignite his lightsaber and show his stuff. A battle with Kylo Ren would be epic, though even the sight of the beloved hero battling some Stormtroopers would leave fans cheering. After years of hiding, it's clear the Jedi Master has decided against taking up arms, but that needs to change here, especially after the death of Han Solo and the continued rise of The First Order. It's obviously going to be a lot of fun once again watching the likes of Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron kicking butt, but Luke fighting alongside them would help take Star Wars: The Last Jedi to the next level. A pacifist Luke just wouldn't be very much fun to watch, and with him being so powerful in the ways of the Force now, it's essential that we get to see him showing that off in glorious IMAX 3D. 3) A Bigger Role For The Supporting Villains While Kylo Ren and Supreme Leader Snoke will hopefully get plenty of screentime, it would definitely be nice to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi shift the focus to General Hux and Captain Phasma. Learning more about what makes the former tick would no doubt be fascinating, especially as his tense relationship with Ren quickly proved to be one of the most interesting aspects of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. There has to be a lot more to that dynamic than meets the eye, and after Hux rescued Ren, we should probably expect even more friction between the two. Phasma, meanwhile, was promoted like a lead villain but received an unsatisfying amount of screentime in the last movie, so this outing needs to find a way to make up for that. Granted, it's already been reported that the uniquely clad Stormtrooper will receive a larger portion of the spotlight in the upcoming sequel, so with any luck, we can expect her to have a satisfying story arc as she looks to get some revenge on Finn for the whole trash compactor incident the last time they crossed paths. 2) No More Death Stars One of the weakest aspects of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the fact that it essentially brought back the Death Star, albeit in a different form. Both this instalment and the next one need to move away from that, giving The First Order some other sort of grand plan to take over the Galaxy. With the Senate wiped out, a greater focus on the villainous group establishing their dominance would be vastly more interesting than a construction of a superweapon, especially as a huge number of troops and ships should be more than adequate to take over instead of them relying on a weapon of mass destruction. If Rian Johnson has dreamed up something which is totally new and original, that's fine, but the movie building up to the introduction of yet another Death Star like device in this film or Episode IX would be downright eye roll worthy, especially coming off the back of Rogue One, which was all about stealing the plans to the original. It's time for both the villains and the franchise as a whole to move on from planet killing weaponry. 1) A Family Reunion Despite it being an emotional and extremely memorable moment, the death of Han Solo means we'll never get to see a reunion between him, Luke, and Leia. However, the chance that we'll get to see the brother and sister duo back together still remains and was with any luck, shot before the tragic passing of Carrie Fisher. As exciting as it will be seeing Luke interact with the franchise's new heroes like Finn and BB-8, these two original stars meeting again as we hopefully learn more about how their relationship developed after the events of Return on the Jedi is a must. It's clear that Leia believes Luke is the only one capable of stopping The First Order, but how will he feel about that and will he hold any guilt about Ben's turn to the Dark Side and Han's death? Just one scene between these two icons could answer both that and much, much more. Tell us, what are you hoping to see from Star Wars: The Last Jedi? Sound off in the usual place and let us know!