How The Story Of Star Wars: The Last Jedi Could Play Out

Luke Skywalker, Rey’s father, and a giant Supreme Leader Snoke are all present in contributor James Ruggero’s speculative piece on how the story of Star Wars: The Last Jedi could play out.

Every time a new Star Wars film is announced, every fan’s mind lights up with possibilities. Like any other fan, I made a list of wishes and predictions for The Last Jedi opening this December. Below is my preferred vision of how the story of The Last Jedi will play out.

Keep in mind that none of this is canon. I don’t have any inside info. What follows is just a speculative piece from a Star Wars fan who likes to play “what if?”

I’d open The Last Jedi with a flashback of young Kylo Ren arguing with his uncle Luke about how the Force should be used. Basically, Kylo argues for self-service while Luke speaks for serving the greater good ending. The scene would end with Kylo storming off furiously.

Image Credit: Lucasfilm

Flash forward a year or two to the day the Knights of Ren strike Luke’s Jedi academy. Luke and his finest pupil run to stop Kylo, Luke stops and tells his pupil, “This is my making. I can handle this.” The other Jedi responds: “It’s my duty to protect you and the Jedi academy.” Luke tells him, “The only duty you have is to your daughter. Now get Rey out of here!”

His pupil grabs baby Rey and flees to a ship headed for Jakku. This may come as a bit of a let down to some fans, but let’s be honest: Rey being related to Luke Skywalker is a bit expected. I’d rather be surprised than happy. This way, her connection to Luke is explained without going the obvious route.

After his student’s ship takes off, Luke turns around and stands across from all of the Knights of Ren. Kylo tells them all to stand down and goes head on with Luke. They commence a fierce battle, during which Luke tries to plea with Kylo. I know it would be a bit like the final fight in Episode III but it would still be interesting.

Luke soon gains the upper hand and offers Kylo a chance to surrender. Luke is then stabbed in the back by one of the Knights. Instead of finishing him off Kylo decides to let Luke burn with his academy. That’s when Luke wakes up in his bed on a large cruiser ship with a cold sweat running down his head.

That’s when Luke wakes up in his bed on a large cruiser ship with a cold sweat running down his head.

Image Credit: Lucasfilm

Luke wanders down the hallway trying to catch his breath. He gets to the end of the hall and cracks open the door to Rey’s room. He watches her sleep a moment as he apologizes to her father and promises to show Rey the way of the Jedi as he wished.

As soon as Luke turns around he sees Poe standing behind him, smiling like a fan boy. Poe follows Luke asking him questions about the great battles in the original trilogy. Things like “Oh man I heard you took down the Death Star with one shot and didn’t even have to use your targeting computer, is that true?!” Luke rolls his eyes while nodding, confirming the stories. Then he tells Poe, “Look I know stories like that were great wins for the Rebellion. But when I look back all I can remember is the people we lost. All battles have casualties, even the glorious ones. So can we please focus on the task at hand.”

Poe straightens up and gets down to business. He gives Luke a status report on their search for the remaining factions of the First Order. Luke asks specifically about Kylo Ren, and Poe tries to convince him that he died when Starkiller Base blew up. Luke refuses to believe that because he can still feel a connection with Kylo.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis)

Ph: Film Frame

We warp over to the other side of the universe where Kylo is training. Inside a dark temple. Kylo bows before Supreme Leader Snoke and begs for forgiveness for his mistakes. Snoke says Kylo is a disappointment to the Knights of Ren. He brings up Kylo’s failure to kill Luke and Rey, plus the fall of Starkiller Base. Snoke gives him one last chance to prove himself. He can feel Luke and Rey coming closer to them everyday. “When they arrive,” Snoke says, “I want you to kill them both. Then you’ll be forgiven.”

Kylo flashes back to when he and the remaining Knights of Ren landed down on Jakku. Kylo closes in on Rey’s father “Give us the girl!” he screams. Rey’s father says nothing, just pulls out his lightsaber and charges. The Knights quickly kill him and then spread out to look for Rey.

Image Credit: Lucasfilm

After the flashbacks, I’d like to see Poe and Finn working together to infiltrate the First Order for the purpose of finding Kylo’s location. This scene could work as some slight comic relief as they wander around a Star Destroyer dressed as stormtroopers. They get into misadventures until they figure out the planet Kylo is training on: Mustafar.

We cut to Mustafar as the Rebel Alliance, sorry, Resistance warps in. Luke and Rey get on a smaller vessel to retrieve Kylo. Luke asks her if she’s ready and she assures him his training was enough. As soon as they’re about to board the vessel to Mustafar the first order comes warping in. pilots begin to rush onto their X-wings. Rey tells Luke “I can go alone, these men need your leadership more than I do right now.” Luke disagrees but as soon as hes distracted she runs to the shuttle and takes off.

The vessel touches down in front of a Sith temple. Once they arrive the giant doors swing open and Kylo Ren’s lightsaber activates. Rey activates hers in response. Kylo says, “Came here to finish what we started on Starkiller Base, I see.” Rey fearlessly runs towards her opponent and an intense lightsaber battle ensues.

Meanwhile, above Mustafar, The X-wings engage the TIE fighters to keep them from entering the planet. Luckily, Poe and Finn happen to be on the head Star Destroyer. As the battle rages on, Poe and Finn go into the engine room and shut the whole thing down. Then they commandeer a TIE fighter and escape.

Image Credit: Lucasfilm

Back on Mustafar, Rey and Kylo battle until she has him wounded and cornered. Rey screams, “This is your one and only chance to turn yourself over to the Resistance!” Before Kylo can answer, a deep booming voice interrupts. “You have failed me for the last time Kylo!” The giant doors swing open and out comes Supreme Leader Snoke.

Now I know the word around the internet is most people think Snoke is gonna be all small like Yoda. Personally, I feel he should be just as big as he looked in the hologram in The Force Awakens. I think we can all agree a 20-foot-tall Sith lord makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

We cut up to the battle above as Finn and Poe celebrate the fall of a Star Destroyer from their stolen TIE fighter. This victory is short lived as they hear a distress call from Rey: “Poe, get down here and help us!” Poe uses his communicator and identifies as Red Leader. He commands all available units to fly down to Mustafar to rescue Rey.

“…are there any survivors out there?”

Back on the planet, Snoke looks down at his pupil with disgust as he activates his giant lightsaber. He screams, “There’s no escape!” and begins to swing his saber to the ground. Kylo is narrowly pulled away from certain doom by Rey. She pulls his arm over her shoulders and carries him to the vessel as Snoke continues to swing at them. As he closes in for the kill he’s hit with a barrage of lasers. Poe and the rest of the pilots have arrived for help.

Snoke doesn’t even bother swinging his lightsaber anymore. Instead, he deactivates it with a sinister grin. Then he raises his hand, and all the X-wings start to crush together in a giant ball. While Snoke is distracted, Rey puts Kylo on board her vessel. Snoke looks up at the stars and groans, “Skywalker” as he throws the ball of X-wings at the command ship and above the planet. The ball goes through the command ship with Luke still on it.

Snoke is satisfied with himself as he sees the exploding ship. He sets his sights back onto Kylo, only to realize he’s gone. Poe and Finn watch the explosion with tears in their eyes. Poe gets on his communicator. “Red leader to Command, are there any survivors out there? General Skywalker, please tell me you weren’t on that ship.” All they hear is silence in return. “Guess he was right Finn, every battle even the glorious ones have casualties.”

When Rey gets off the planet only to find the command ship she was on is destroyed with Luke still on it. “Look at all this Kylo, look at all the death caused because of your hatred.” A struggling Kylo asks Rey, “Why did you save me then?” Rey answers, “Because I know there is still a part of you that still feels something, I can sense it in you. My master Luke once told me never to give up hope in people that there’s always a chance to come back, it is the way of the Jedi.” Then cut to the credits.

I’d end it right there on a nice big cliff hanger for part 9. Will Kylo come to the jedi? Is Luke still alive? That’s what I would like to see in the next Star Wars movie. Realistically, I don’t think most of, if any of these scenes will actually be in The Last Jedi. But hey, a nerd can dream. If any of this does happen you know who called it first.

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‘Til next time, may the Force be with you all.

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Predictions And Wishes For How The Story Of Star Wars: The Last Jedi Could Play Out

By James Ruggero | Mar 11, 2017

Luke Skywalker, Rey’s father, and a giant Supreme Leader Snoke are all present in contributor James Ruggero’s speculative piece on how the story of Star Wars: The Last Jedi could play out.

More from Dork Side of the Force