— Ch. 1 · Sequel Trilogy Context —
Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
~6 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
In October 2012, Disney acquired Lucasfilm and announced a new trilogy of Star Wars films. J.J. Abrams directed the first installment, The Force Awakens, which released in 2015. Rian Johnson wrote and directed Episode VIII as the second chapter of this sequel trilogy. The film serves as the eighth episode within the nine-part Skywalker saga. It follows the events immediately after the Battle of Starkiller Base from the previous movie. General Leia Organa and the Resistance evacuate their base while the First Order fleet arrives. Poe Dameron leads a counterattack that destroys a First Order dreadnought against Leia's orders. The remaining Resistance escapes into hyperspace but is tracked by a device used by the First Order. Kylo Ren hesitates to fire on the lead ship before his wingmen destroy the bridge. Most Resistance leaders die during this attack. Leia survives being dragged into space by using the Force.
Journey To Ahch-To And Crait
Rey travels to the planet Ahch-To to find Luke Skywalker who lives there in self-imposed exile. Luke refuses to help at first because he believes the Jedi should end. He agrees to give Rey three lessons after encouragement from R2-D2. During training, Rey and Kylo begin communicating through the Force. Kylo tells Rey that Luke feared his power. Luke confesses he momentarily contemplated killing Kylo upon sensing Snoke was corrupting him. This prompted Kylo to destroy Luke's new Jedi Order. Meanwhile, Finn and Rose travel to the casino town of Canto Bight to disable the tracking device. They meet the hacker DJ and escape with the help of stablehand children. Holdo plans to evacuate the Resistance using small transport vessels. Poe leads a mutiny believing her plan is cowardly. A recovered Leia stuns Poe with a blaster and proceeds with the evacuation. Holdo sacrifices herself by slicing through Snoke's flagship at lightspeed. The First Order fleet begins firing on the evacuation transports. Rey escapes the destruction while Kylo declares himself Supreme Leader. BB-8 frees Finn and Rose who fight and defeat Phasma. They join survivors on the salt flats of Crait.