Why The Last Jedi Became Star Wars’ Most Controversial Movie

June 29, 20248 Mins Read

Summary

Star Wars: The Last Jedi’s divisiveness stems from its handling of Luke Skywalker, which was always going to be controversial given it was his first story since Return of the Jedi.
The film’s marketing did not reflect its subversiveness, leading to fan expectations not being met.
Many choices Rian Johnson made surrounding Rey’s lineage, Snoke’s character, and Luke’s storyline, caused controversy due to fan anger at prevalent theories not being catered to.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is undoubtedly the most divisive movie in the franchise, and there are several reasons as to why. Upon the release of the film in 2017, many were excited to see how Star Wars‘ sequel trilogy would continue. Although this excitement extended to a strong box office run, it became immediately clear that The Last Jedi was dividing fans, with some remarking it as the worst-ranked Star Wars movie and others labeling it a bold, unique continuation of the Skywalker Saga.

Unfortunately, the Star Wars franchise is no stranger to controversy. Since 1977, every single theatrical installment in the franchise has received some criticism, especially the prequel trilogy and The Last Jedi‘s predecessor, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This divisiveness is only expected to continue with upcoming Star Wars movies, though many will hope the initial criticism will subside to give the films a more measured perception as time passes. One film in the franchise of which this is still yet to happen is Star Wars: The Last Jedi, with the film’s many aspects still intensely debated seven years after release.

The Acolyte Poster background with Rey played by Daisy Ridley

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It Was The First Star Wars Movie With Luke Skywalker Since 1983

Luke Skywalker’s Storyline Has Persisted As The Last Jedi’s Most Prevalent Criticisms

Without a shadow of a doubt, the handling of Luke Skywalker is what has caused, is still causing, and will continue to cause many to despise Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In live-action Star Wars, The Last Jedi was the first time Luke Skywalker had a proper story in over 40 years. Since Return of the Jedi in 1983, Luke had only received storylines in books, novels, or comics, and Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012 saw almost every single one of these stories be rendered Star Wars Legends or non-canon.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens centered around Luke Skywalker, but Mark Hamill only appeared in the role in one final scene that teased The Last Jedi.

Therefore, The Last Jedi faced an immense amount of pressure to tell a satisfying Luke Skywalker story. Not only was it the first Luke story since Return of the Jedi which itself invites expectation, but it had to provide logical explanations for The Force Awakens‘ setup of his exile. Due to these factors, Luke Skywalker’s storyline in Episode VIII was going to be controversial either way. As it turns out, the guilt and shame surrounding his history with Kylo Ren proved incredibly divisive, as did Luke Skywalker’s eventual death in The Last Jedi.

Luke Skywalker death in The Last Jedi with Luke looking out and a bright sunset behind him

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The Last Jedi’s Marketing Didn’t Sell The Film For What It Was

Clever Marketing Hid The Film’s True Nature, Though Sold A Different Movie Than Was Made

Kylo Ren asks Rey to join him in The Last Jedi

The divisive elements of Star Wars: The Last Jedi can be attributed to the film’s marketing. The various trailers for The Last Jedi are exceptionally crafted, as are the trailers for The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker. Lucasfilm’s marketing has rarely been better, yet The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi specifically have some elements in their trailers that misled fans. The former has long been criticized for positioning John Boyega’s Finn as the sequel trilogy’s Jedi before the film gave that honor to Daisy Ridley’s Rey.

Concerning The Last Jedi, the marketing did not adequately outline the film’s subversiveness. For the most part, the marketing was played relatively straight. Most story beats are laid out, from Kylo and Snoke’s training and Luke and Rey doing the same to Star Wars’ classic dogfights, lightsaber sequences, and stories of good vs. evil. While hints were included about the film’s subversive story, such as Luke’s line, “This is not going to go the way you think,” the trailers still did not sell how different the film’s story would be from typical Star Wars, which itself caused controversy.

Rian Johnson’s Choices Were Controversial

The Last Jedi’s Subversiveness Naturally Proved To Be An Element Many Did Not Agree On

Speaking of The Last Jedi‘s subversiveness, which the trailers did not reflect, many choices made by writer-director Rian Johnson received criticism. As alluded to, his handling of Luke Skywalker – from the character’s guilt and shame to his exile – was one such choice. This storyline, along with many others, simply fell under the umbrella of Johnson choosing not to focus on theories many had after Star Wars: The Force Awakens. After two years of fan theories and discourse around the sequel trilogy’s lingering mysteries, Johnson decided not to invest too heavily in answering these mysteries solely to appease fans.

As such, many of Johnson’s choices proved divisive. For example, the bulk of theories after The Force Awakens surrounded Rey’s parentage. Theories ranged from Luke or Leia being her parent to Rey being a descendant of Obi-Wan Kenobi. In The Last Jedi, Johnson simply decided to make Rey nobody. She was positioned as a character of no noble family or powerful bloodline, and instead someone who was simply called upon to fight darkness, linking to the film’s theme that anybody can be special. After years of theorizing, this choice proved discordant.

Snoke was unceremoniously killed by Kylo Ren after little was revealed about his character, proving to be… one of the many Johnson choices some fans disagreed with.

Another primary source of post-Force Awakens theories centered around the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke. The villainous figure was only teased in Episode VII, leading many to expect his storyline to be fleshed out in The Last Jedi. Whether he was a Sith, a disciple of Palpatine, or Darth Plagueis reborn was expected to be answered one way or another in The Last Jedi. Instead, Snoke died. Snoke was unceremoniously killed by Kylo Ren after little was revealed about his character, proving to be – alongside Rey’s lineage and Luke’s story – one of the many Johnson choices some fans disagreed with.

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The Last Jedi Didn’t Meet Expectations – & Thus It Caused Controversy

A Large Portion Of The Last Jedi’s Controversy Can Be Summed Up By Fan Expectations

Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in the poster for The Last Jedi (2017) next to Adam Driver raising his lightsaber as Kylo Ren — Custom Image by Lewis Glazebrook

As is often the case in modern franchise filmmaking, fan expectations proved to be the primary source of Star Wars: The Last Jedi‘s controversy. While fans are well within their right to theorize and speculate on lingering mysteries, it is their responsibility not to pin all of their hopes and expectations on these theories. With The Last Jedi, a large group of fans failed in this responsibility. Theorizing and discourse completely took over the fandom, and thus, a massive amount of pressure was placed upon the film to answer these theories exactly as they had been crafted in fans’ minds.

Of course, it is worth noting that this issue does not exist solely within the Star Wars fandom. The DCEU, MCU, and other major franchises that have faced divisiveness – such as Game of Thrones with its contentious ending – have all told stories that play out differently from what theories presented, thus facing controversy. Star Wars: The Last Jedi was no different. The expectations placed on answers to the mysteries of Luke, Rey, Snoke, and other characters were subverted, which enabled the film to become the single most divisive entry in a galaxy far, far away.

Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi

In the second installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, General Leia Organa leads the Resistance forces against the First Order. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker struggles to come to terms with his past failures, while Rey urges him to train her in the Force and join the resistance. Culminating in a massive battle between the two armies, The Last Jedi raises the stakes of this intergalactic war, and sees the final fight of one beloved character.