Ever since Disney announced The Last Jedi‘s title, fans have been debating what it actually means. Is Luke Skywalker the Last Jedi? Is it Rey? Or does it refer to “Jedi,” plural?
At long last, director Rian Johnson has given a definitive answer: Luke Skywalker is the Last Jedi.
“It’s in the opening crawl of The Force Awakens,” Johnson told the New York Times. “Luke Skywalker, right now, is the last Jedi. There’s always wiggle room in these movies — everything is from a certain point of view — but coming into our story, he is the actual last of the Jedi.”
So, there you have it: the answer to months of internet arguments about Star Wars title grammar. Reading between the lines here, Rian Johnson sounds a little exasperated with how much everyone was overthinking the issue.
The new question is whether Luke will remain the last Jedi, or if Rey will continue the Jedi tradition after this movie. Her role in The Force Awakens intentionally echoes Luke and Anakin’s roles in earlier movies, but while she does have an incredible affinity for the Force, she may not become an actual Jedi, kind of like how she may not be a member of the Skywalker family. Rey could represent a new way for the Force, rejecting the flawed system of the Jedi and avoiding another repeat of past mistakes.
H/T New York Times