Star Wars: The Last Jedi

• 1. Sequel Trilogy Context

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  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.

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• 2. Journey To Ahch-To And Crait

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  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.

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• 3. Director Vision And Scripting

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  Rian Johnson wrote the script for Episode VIII starting in 2014. He had his story group watch films like Twelve O'Clock High and The Bridge on the River Kwai for inspiration. Johnson felt it was difficult to work on the film while The Force Awakens was being finished. He wrote the scene with mirrored versions of Rey to symbolize her search for identity. When she asks for a vision of her parents, she sees only herself. Rey learns that her parents were nobodies because it would be the hardest thing she could hear. Johnson likened this scene to Luke Skywalker learning that Darth Vader is his father in The Empire Strikes Back. During production, Mark Hamill expressed disagreement with the direction of his character. He felt Luke's disillusioned state was at odds with the character. Hamill later said he regretted making his initial misgivings public. He compared his disagreements to his clashes with George Lucas during Return of the Jedi.

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• 4. Filming Locations And Effects

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  Second unit photography began at Skellig Michael in Ireland on the 14th of September 2015. It lasted five days but filming was canceled for the first day due to poor weather. Principal photography started at Pinewood Studios in England in February 2016. Additional filming took place in Dubrovnik, Croatia from March 9 to 16. Malin Head in County Donegal and Ceann Sibeal in County Kerry served as additional locations. Location filming for the battle scenes on Crait occurred at the Salar de Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia. Production wrapped on the 22nd of July 2016 though some scenes were shot later. Rick Heinrichs served as production designer creating 125 sets across 14 sound stages. Creature designer Neal Scanlan stated the film has more practical effects than any Star Wars movie. They created 180 to 200 creatures using practical effects. Yoda appeared as a Force ghost using puppetry instead of computer-generated imagery. Johnson explained that a digital Yoda would not have been true to how Luke knew him.

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• 5. Cast Performances And Casting

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  Mark Hamill returned as Luke Skywalker while Carrie Fisher played General Leia Organa. Her final performance was posthumous since she died in December 2016. The film is dedicated to her memory. Adam Driver portrayed Kylo Ren who is Supreme Leader Snoke's disciple. Daisy Ridley plays Rey, a highly Force-sensitive scavenger from Jakku. John Boyega appears as Finn, a former stormtrooper who defected to the Resistance. Oscar Isaac plays Poe Dameron, an X-wing fighter pilot. Andy Serkis voices Supreme Leader Snoke. Lupita Nyong'o portrays Maz Kanata, a pirate and ally of the Resistance. Kelly Marie Tran joined as Rose Tico, a maintenance worker. Laura Dern plays Vice-Admiral Amilyn Holdo. Benicio del Toro appears as DJ, an underworld codebreaker. Frank Oz returns as Yoda using puppetry techniques. Joonas Suotamo takes over the role of Chewbacca after Peter Mayhew passed away. Jimmy Vee portrays R2-D2 taking over from Kenny Baker who died in August 2016.

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• 6. Box Office Records And Earnings

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  The Last Jedi grossed $1.334 billion worldwide making it the highest-grossing film of 2017. It became the ninth-highest-grossing film of all time by the end of its run. The film had a worldwide opening of $450.8 million which was the eighth-biggest of all time. IMAX screenings contributed $40.6 million to that total. Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit at $417.5 million accounting for production budgets and marketing costs. Pre-sale tickets went on sale in October 2017 causing servers to crash due to heavy traffic. The film made $45 million from Thursday night previews which was the second-highest amount ever. It earned $104.8 million on its first day including previews. The opening weekend figure included an IMAX opening of $25 million. After dropping 76% on its second Friday, the film fell by 67% in its second weekend. It remained atop the box office despite these drops. By the 31st of December 2017, the film crossed the $1 billion mark.

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• 7. Critical Praise And Fan Backlash

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  Matt Zoller Seitz gave the film four stars out of four praising surprises and risks taken. Peter Travers awarded three-and-a-half stars calling it one of the best Star Wars epics. Richard Roeper said the film is a worthy chapter though it lags in the second half. George Lucas described the movie as beautifully made shortly after release. Audience scores measured by CinemaScore averaged an A grade while PostTrak gave it 89 percent positive. User-generated scores at Rotten Tomatoes received considerable coverage for being more negative. Several reviewers speculated that coordinated vote brigading contributed to low scores. Rotten Tomatoes later admitted the film had been seriously targeted by a review-bombing campaign. Emily St. James found dissatisfied fans saw the film as too progressive or disliked character arcs. Particularly divisive was the reveal that Rey's parents are insignificant. There was also sentiment that Snoke's character was underdeveloped. The casting of Kelly Marie Tran sparked racist and misogynistic backlash against her and her character. Tran quit social media after facing extensive harassment over her ethnicity and appearance. Director Rian Johnson and co-stars defended Tran against the harassment she received.

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