SPECULATION How Might the Movie End?

I hope the movie ends with the outbreak of a full-scale galactic war.

 

The idea of Leia captured by or surrendering to the First Order could make for the type of ending that would've set Leia up to have a forefront role in IX (they claim they've adjusted IX not VIII to deal with the actress's death) like how VII set up Luke in VIII by Rey finding him. That would be a new rhyme or echo of TESB where Han was taken and sent to Jabba. One of the ways it could end. (I also think that type of idea works best by revealing Rey as Leia's daughter within TLJ.)

--- Double Post Merged, Oct 28, 2017, Original Post Date: Oct 27, 2017 ---

Mark Hamill: “[Does The Last Jedi have similarities to The Empire Strikes Back?] Well the middle act of a three act play – or an opera – that’s where everything goes wrong for the protagonists. And I thought it was so refreshing in Empire we were thoroughly defeated, I lose a hand, the revelation of Darth Vader’s relationship to me, it was so unexpected and plus it was I thought a deeper, more cerebral film with Yoda which who I loved that addition, it made it I think a more challenging experience for the audience rather than just retreading the euphoria of the first one.” “Yes [The Last Jedi is a more challenging experience for the audience]. [Rian Johnson] has more leeway to really mess things up – it’s Colin Trevorrow that’s gonna have to tie all the loose ends together [for Episode IX].” (April 14, 2017)

Rian Johnson: "[I've made a mess that Colin Trevorrow somehow will have to clean up in Episode IX.]" (May 24, 2017)

Rian Johson: "Nothing like [I was being dictated to on the story]. But it’s the second film in a trilogy. The first film got these characters here. This second movie has to dig into and challenge these characters. I wanted this to be a satisfying experience unto itself. I didn’t want it to end with a dot, dot, dot, question mark." (September 6, 2017)

Rereading that last quote, I think on that last quote he was just trying to get across the idea that he had to say things about these characters "has to dig" and not leave the audience not knowing anything more than they already did in TFA, like there was still a bunch of question marks regarding characterization.

 

Personally I'd like to see them switch it up. If you look at all the typical tropes used so far.

Snoke = the emperor
Kylo = Vader
Luke = OB1/Yoda
Rey = Luke
SKB = Death star
Ahch to = degobah

The list goes on and on. If the film is structured like TESB, Then Disney have just spent billions to remake/reboot a franchise and not enrich/expand on its story in anyway at all. It becomes nothing more than a cash cow.

Personally I'd like to see the plot lines that we know about or have speculated on play out up until the last 20 minutes or so and by this point I'd actually like to see the FO completely against the ropes. Then have some sort of incident that completely turns the star wars mythology on its head leaving both sides in complete disarray.

Let's have Kanye West amble out of the unknown regions, with Darth mauls lightsabre in hand and an army of tap dancing mongooses at his back. who then proceeds to rage through everyone and declare that he actually discovered the force in order to expose the truth that Donald Trumps hair really does defy the laws of physics and The prequel trilogy never actually happened because 'stone cold said so!' . (Maybe a bit out there but you get the jist lol)

I'd like to see some major part of star wars lore revealed as a lie. Which leaves the entire galaxy in utter chaos. It would be great to see the level of danger/conflict escalate beyond war between 2 opposing points of view to a battle for intergalactic survival. Or at least set it up ready for the inevitable 4th trilogy.

 

And the whole fandom in chaos. Altering a view a small portion of what came before is acceptable, flat out pretending that the previous films got basically everything wrong is deeply disrespectful to the people who invested so much time and effort into a particular franchise. Besides, such a "twist" screams of desperation and lack of any better ideas to progress the story.

 

Whoa whoa whoa I didnt mean go that far It still has to be done within context and with respect to what came before. If you look at the Vader/father reveal it showed that a part of what was told and believed was a lie. That's kind of the gravitas I'm getting at.

However I want it to be something that affects both sides, not just one. An example would be maybe something about the very nature of the force that they kind of tried and failed at in TPM.

Sorry if I didn't make that clear I tend to get carried away.

 

While I agree that he did want to get to the "meat" of the characters, Rian also talked about his story writing process and how he wanted to challenge the characters.

Rian Johnson - USA Today
"When I first read the script of The Force Awakens, I was like, “I feel like I know these characters instantly.” And now we get to kind of put them through a meat grinder. (Laughs) And for me, part of that meant that we had to make things as hard on each of them as possible: At least part of the movie, they don’t have their friends around. They’ve got to figure things out for themselves. They’ve got to be faced with whatever the toughest thing each of them can be faced with, and they’re not going to have their buddy there next to them to get them out of it, necessarily."

Rian Johnson - Vanity Fair
"J.J. and Larry [Kasdan] and Michael [Arndt] set everybody up in a really evocative way in VII and started them on a trajectory. I guess I saw it as the job of this middle chapter to challenge all of those characters—let’s see what happens if we knock the stool out from under them … I started by writing the names of each of the characters and thinking, What’s the hardest thing they could be faced with?"​

That is a fun concept - and so maybe we could give it a try ourselves. Write the names of each character and think of the hardest thing they could be faced with.

• Luke: Self-doubt - both as the Jedi Master Yoda wanted him to be and his emotional temptations with the dark path
  • Yoda asked him to pass on what he's learned to his family and that didn't go so well with Ben Solo. "When gone am I, the Last of the Jedi will you be. The Force is strong in your family, pass on what you've learned." Luke was confident that he had completed his training, "Then I am a Jedi." But Yoda reminded him "Not yet." Yoda explains that it was unfortunate the Luke rushed to face Vader because "incomplete was your training." And even though Yoda couldn't complete the training, so long as Luke faced Vader, then he would be a Jedi. When Luke threw down his saber, he was willing to give up his life to be at peace and let his strength flow from the Force.
  • Luke has strong emotion like his father: Impatience, anger, fear, recklessness. "A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind."
  • "Beware, anger, fear, aggression, the dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."
  • "Do not underestimate the powers of the Emperor, or suffer your fathers fate, you will."

• Leia: The loss of Hope - Without the power of her family, is hope lost? Is her son lost? She fears that the dark side will prevail over the light.
  • Luke knew that if anything were to happen to him, Leia would be the only hope for the Alliance, but she doubted him. "You have a power I don't understand, and could never have." With Luke missing, Leia is desperate to find him again, still believing that only Luke's power can save the Galaxy. "I can't believe I was so foolish to think I could find Luke and bring him home."
  • Han tells Leia that they've lost their son, forever. "No, it was Snoke that seduced him to the dark side, but we can still save him. Me. You." Leia believed there was "still light in him, i know it" and told Han, "If you see our son, bring him home." She was devastated by the loss of Han. She believed in the power of family - that Kylo would listen because Han was "his father." Was she wrong about Kylo?

• Kylo: He has locked himself into a path that he can't change. He made a choice and now he has to stick with it, no matter the cost.
  • Kylo (& Snoke) see his emotions as a weakness. "Your son is gone. He was weak and foolish like his father, so I destroyed him," doesn't fool Han. Han tells Kylo what he already knows - "He's using you for your power. When he gets what he wants, he'll crush you. You know it's true." Kylo's response to that is, "It's too late." He's locked himself in and now he doesn't know which way to go. "I'm being torn apart."
  • Kylo believes that he is on the right side. "Murderers, traitors, and thieves you call friends," shows the conflict in his sense of right and wrong. "Forgive me, I feel it again, the call to the light. Supreme Leader senses it." He believes that his grandfather, Vader, was on the right side and that he needs the darkness in order to fulfill his family's destiny. Rey confirms his fear that, "You are afraid that you'll never be as strong as Darth Vader."

• Rey: Abandonment / Loneliness - A fear that she has no real family - no place to fit in to the story
  • "Why are you so lonely? Afraid to leave. At night, desperate to sleep. You imagine an ocean. I see it. I see the island. And Han Solo. You feel like he's the father you never had."
  • "You already know the truth. Whomever you are waiting for on Jakku, they're never coming back. But, there is someone that still could." Maz tells her. "Luke," Rey confirms. "The belonging you seek is not behind you, it is ahead." Rey's path is to move forward to the Island and to find Luke. That is where she is to get her sense of belonging.
  • "I need someone, to show me my place in all this," is Rey desperate for Luke to answer her plea of belonging.

• Finn: He is not the hero. The First Order is too powerful
  • "There's a mission that needs to be completed but that isn't necessarily something that doesn't come without a fight and it's something that he's gonna have to face for himself." - Boyega
  • “It got really real for him, and he just wants to get away and not be involved. His intention in the first place was to go to the Outer Rim. He was always brought back [in The Force Awakens,], but this is his chance to get away and perhaps find Rey and go off together. Everyone in the space, throughout the galaxy, would have heard about the young Jedi who discovered her powers and defeated Kylo Ren and the young former Stormtrooper who helped save the day. He’s a hero to people like Rose, who fight for the Resistance because their homes have been destroyed by the First Order.”
    
  • “He appreciates the adoration for a second, but when he meets her, Finn is trying to escape the whole war. He’s trying to leave. She comes in and basically gives him a depiction of himself that wasn’t necessarily true. Seeing himself through her eyes gives the ex-Stormtrooper something to live up to. It’s now an opportunity for him to be the best he can be. He has to make a decision, and Rose is there to help him make that choice,” Boyega says.

• Poe: Not saving the day. The strategy of retreat. Not all battles can be won with head-on confrontation.
  • "Poe is in some ways a surrogate son for Leia. But also I think she sees in him the potential for a truly great leader of the Resistance and beyond. Poe’s arc is one of evolving from a heroic soldier to a seasoned leader, to see beyond the single-mindedness of winning the battle to the larger picture of the future of the galaxy,” Isaac says. “I think Leia knows she won’t be around forever and she, with tough love, wants to push Poe to be more than the badass pilot, to temper his heroic impulses with wisdom and clarity."

• Snoke: Luke Skywalker's return and the rise of the new Jedi
  • He is desperate to find Skywalker before the Resistance does because he knows that if Skywalker returns, it will threaten his plans. He seems to fear the rise of the Jedi more than the Resistance.

So once again, "They’ve got to be faced with whatever the toughest thing each of them can be faced with, and they’re not going to have their buddy there next to them to get them out of it, necessarily."

• Luke must come to terms with his failed Academy and realize that he is "Jedi enough" to pass on what he's learned. Even though his destiny is tainted by the dark side, he has already faced Vader and can find that peace again if he believes in himself.
• Leia will have to face the full might of the First Order without Luke and retain her Hope. Crait isn't the end, even though she may think it is. There is still light out there, even if it is only a spark.
• Kylo has told us that he has to "Let the past die. Kill it if you have to. That's the only way to become what you're meant to be." He must not let his past decisions keep him from seizing his destiny.
• Rey must deal with a Luke that doesn't accept her, despite her dreams of finding him on the Island. Can she overcome the rejection once more and find strength to belong?
• Finn clearly finds the courage to face the First Order once again, despite his fears. He is absolutely a Hero.
• Poe starts the movie headstrong but the costs mount up. He must find a way to think strategically and lead in a different way, all while facing the possibility that Leia won't always be there.
• Snoke may not have to worry about Luke returning even if the Resistance does find him. Perhaps his worries about Luke are misplaced and it is really Kylo that he should be worried about.

Makes sense to what I'm seeing, hearing, and reading.

 

Poe gives the order for the fleet to hit lightspeed.

 

Speaking of which, Poe's arc into developing into the next Resistance leader makes sense if Leia is no longer able to lead the Resistance within or by the end of the movie.

Rian Johnson: “Yeah, I think [Leia sees Poe as the future leader of the Resistance]. He’s also got some growing to do. Poe’s got to grow. She definitely saw that potential in him and in The Last Jedi, we dig into that more. We’ve seen how heroic he is and now we’re going to see him challenged in terms of stepping up to the next level. It takes more than heroics to be a leader, or so I’m told.” (October 24, 2017)

Oscar Isaac: “Poe is in some ways a surrogate son for Leia. But also I think she sees in him the potential for a truly great leader of the Resistance and beyond.” “Poe’s arc is one of evolving from a heroic soldier to a seasoned leader, to see beyond the single-mindedness of winning the battle to the larger picture of the future of the galaxy. I think Leia knows she won’t be around forever and she, with tough love, wants to push Poe to be more than the badass pilot, to temper his heroic impulses with wisdom and clarity.” (August 10, 2017)

Billie Lourd, Lieutenant Connix actress: (18:27) “On this film, on [Episode] VIII, [my mother Carrie Fisher and I] kind of got more into the swing of things [after working together on The Force Awakens] and we’re having a really good time together and it’s like it’ll probably never happen again unless she gets on Scream Queens.” (December 18, 2016 - this was a week before Fisher's death, suggesting that Leia and Connix wouldn't be together again in IX)

See also: Marvel Poe Dameron comics

That would also allow Finn to more take over (maybe he learns to fly an X-wing too) what Poe used to do in the next movie instead of being similar Resistance members.

 

Yep all the makings of a leader.

 

Their has to be a line some where in between.

Like you say if they change the lore upto such an extent that it disrespects then fandon would cause, and to be honest would probably cause mockery in the wider media.

but on the flip side if the play it too safe, then back lash towards the force awakens been to safe and a remake will be nothing compared to what would will come if the Last Jedi is noticeably similar in plot to Empire. While some fans may pass if off as rhyming, most will simply look at it as repeating itself, and it the wider media it will be seen as ripping itself off which be massively damaging to the star wars brand as whole, it will also cause people to reassess the force awakens and the criticisms of that films will become a lot more wider spread, this trilogy will at risk of been as widely mocked as the prequels and having two trilogies that are seen by the wider population in a negative light will have a long term damaging effect on the future of star wars

So they they simply have to give to take the story in a new and surprising directions but stay true to what has gone before.

 

Easier said than done.

PS. Also, one cannot forget that this "place" lies in a different... place (too much places in one sentence) for each one of us. The best example is the issue of Rey's heritage. There are people who believe that her being a Skywalker/Solo is essential to staying true to the past. There are also some who believe that Rey Skywalker would be a rehash of previous Episodes. There won't ever be a SW film that would nicely fit into this magical golden mean for all the members of the audience (for a majority, sure) and that's a thought we have to accept.