The Last Jedi. Yes. Good job. That’s a good title for a Star Wars movie, and that’s what they are calling Rian Johnson’s Episode VIII. It just beat out the other contenders, The Final Brother Bloom; Smuggler’s Blues; More Driver, Less Silence; and Ghost Soloooooooooooooo. Star Wars titles are usually three to four words, and they always set the tone for the movie, which makes them very important for people who believe in the Force (I spent my weekend trying to use my mind to lift an X-Wing out of a swamp that had formed outside of my house) (I had a weird weekend). A New Hope was def hopeful, the empire def came back, and the Jedi def returned. The prequels went one step too far into the lore, with Siths, and clones, and phantoms. But the new trilogy is righting the ship.
There were rumors that The Force Awakens was originally going to be called Shadow of the Empire. Think about that. I’m sure it would have still made the GDP of Iceland at the box office, but that would have led to a longer convo between some parents before they took their kids to the theater. The same thing would have happened if they had called Rogue One something different, like, I don’t know … Don’t Get Too Attached to These People. Titles matter.
I am at peace with the reality that the new Star Wars films will largely mine the old Star Wars films. Johnson is batting Empire in the lineup, and all the noises coming out of the Disney-Lucasfilm camp are that The Last Jedi will follow suit. The question is, who is the last Jedi? Luke? Rey? Kylo? Your man on this Luggabeast????
IS IT THE LUGGABEAST?! In all seriousness, throwing last on anything as lucrative as a Star Wars movie is a gamble, and also a bit of bait-and-switch. I have a feeling the Force will stay awake for a while.
