Star Wars: The Last Jedi is finally out in theatres, with the majority of critics hailing the new film as one of the best Star Wars films ever made. And while the movie packs in its fair share of excitement, surprises, crowd-pleasing hero moments, and outstanding visuals, it's still a film that doesn't quite answer all of the plot threads and mysteries that it revealed. There were plenty of moments within the film that left us puzzled, scratching our heads as to what they meant (or what they could signify for future Star Wars films). What exactly, for example, was the significance of those dice? Who was Snoke, and why did those guards kick so much ass? Why did Kylo never realise the truth behind Luke's appearance? We're here to try and answer some of The Last Jedi's biggest unanswered questions with some of our own research and educated guesswork. But if you think you know the answer better than we do, tell us what we got wrong (or right) in the comments.
So what were those dice?
In The Last Jedi, Luke Skywalker takes a pair of golden dice from the Millennium Falcon, before giving them to his sister Leia near the climax of the film. As you've probably guessed, those dice belonged to Han Solo, and can originally be seen hanging from the same place in the Falcon cockpit in A New Hope (as seen in the image above). While the official story behind the significance of the dice to Han is still to be confirmed, the rumor is that those were the dice Han used in the game of chance that won him the Millennium Falcon from its previous owner, none other than Lando Calrissian. Perhaps this incident will be touched upon in the upcoming Solo standalone film?
But knowing that those dice belonged to Han sets up another big question: it they were so important, why didn't Leia herself take the dice from the Falcon after the end of The Force Awakens?
How did Leia survive in the coldness of space?
In one of The Last Jedi's most pivotal scenes, Leia is sucked into space when the bridge of her ship is split open by some attacking TIE fighters. And while that would normally mean certain death for most other characters, somehow Leia manages to make her way back to the rest of the ship. While it's never actually specifically mentioned by any character as to how Leia was able to do this, it's pretty clear that the Princess used her latent Force abilities to somehow move herself out of the vacuum of space. As a Skywalker, Leia is obviously imbued with some Force ability, as has previously been demonstrated through her psychic connections with other key characters in the franchise (mostly her brother Luke).
Who exactly is Snoke?
Snoke, the puppet master behind both the First Order and Kylo Ren, was first introduced in The Force Awakens, but little was actually disclosed about his origins. We had hoped more would be revealed about the enigmatic baddie in The Last Jedi, but sadly, Kylo Ren's treachery means Snoke is no more, with the film divulging no further details about his former master.
So who exactly was Snoke? Very little is known about him, with the films themselves simply presenting Snoke as the leader of the First Order who also was extremely strong in the dark side of the Force (witness the lightning power he uses to dispel Rey in The Last Jedi). Snoke is similarly a mysterious figure in other non-film Star Wars media, so all fans are left with is speculation. By far the most popular prevailing theory is that Snoke is actually the mysterious Darth Plagueis, the never-seen Sith master of Emperor Palpatine himself.
Why did Luke die? Will he become a Force ghost now?
Luke Skywalker, one of the galaxy's greatest Jedi masters, seemingly meets his end in The Last Jedi, fading away on a mountainside in Ahch To after the film's climactic battle. But what actually caused him to expire?
It seems clear that the enormous effort that was required for Luke to project his image across the galaxy to appear on Crait to confront Kylo Ren took its toll, making the old Jedi go the way of Ben Kenobi and become one with the Force. It seemed to be a willing gesture, in much the same way both Kenobi and Yoda accepted their end and lose their corporeal forms. Both those characters--as well as other Force-wielding folks like Anakin/Darth Vader--subsequently appeared as Force ghosts, so there's a good chance that this won't be the last we'll see of Master Luke.
Why did Kylo never realise Luke wasn't actually there?
In previous Star Wars films, Force users always seemed to have the ability to recognise when other Force-sensitive people were amongst them. Vader sensed Kenobi's presence on the original Death Star, for example, while Luke knew his father was on the Death Star II all the way from the Endor moon. So why did Ben Skywalker/Kylo Ren--apparently one of the most powerful Force-wielders ever--not realise that he was only facing a projection of Luke Skywalker on Crait, and not the real person himself?
The answer seems based on who Kylo Ren is. As a petulant, unstable villain who can barely keep his emotions in check, it seems that Ren became blinded to his rage and passion when he finally saw his uncle--the man he'd been chasing across the galaxy--standing right in front of him. It's this rage that could have blinded him to what his Force senses were possibly telling him--that all he was looking at was an illusion.
How were the First Order tracking the Resistance fleet?
The entire middle section of The Last Jedi saw the huge First Order fleet chasing down a small number of Resistance ships. While jumping into hyperspace would normally be enough to lose pursuers in Star Wars, the Resistance ships were unwilling to do so, as the First Order had the uncanny ability to track them even through hyperspace. But how?
In the film, General Hux proudly proclaims that he had the Resistance "on a string", with that string being some new technology developed by the First Order to allow them to track the opposing fleet no matter when they travel in space. While the nature of that technology was never actually explained in The Last Jedi, it's extremely reminiscent to the opening episodes of the Battlestar Galactica reboot show, where the human fleet were somehow being tracked through their faster-than-light jumps by the evil Cyclon forces. In that Galactica episode, it turned out that one of the ships in the Galactica fleet had been bugged by the Cylons to deliver the fleet's location, and had to be destroyed in order for the humans to escape.
What was Luke hiding on Ahch To?
Luke Skywalker's self-imposed exile is on the planet of Ahch To, a mainly ocean covered globe with only the occasional inhospitable island to be seen. But why exactly did Luke choose this planet to hide on?
Ahch To was actually the location of the very first Jedi temple, the ruins of which can be seen all around the island Luke lives on. Ahch To is also where the Jedi Order's most sacred texts--the Journal of the Whills--are kept, and were stored inside the husk of a once gigantic tree. This very same tree is later burnt to the ground by ghost Yoda, after Luke initially attempts to do it to finally end the Jedi order.
Wait, did the Journal of Whills survive that fire?
Yes. We only see it for the briefest of moments, but it seemed that Rey had stored the texts on the Millennium Falcon to preserve them for future Jedi generations.
Who were those red guards protecting Snoke, and why were they so badass?
After Kylo Ren successfully assassinates Snoke, the red-clad guards standing around the edges of his throne room suddenly spring into action. And while Kylo and Rey are the two most powerful Force users in the galaxy, it still took an enormous effort for both of them to defeat their foes. What gives?
Those guards have an official name--they're the Elite Praetorian Guard, and they're a small band of eight warriors who were hand chosen to protect Supreme Leader Snoke (although they did a horrible job of it). They're the best of the best, and would be more than a match for most fighters in the galaxy. The Praetorian Guard look and function similarly to Emperor Palpatine's Royal Guard, who we last saw doing a similarly awful job of protecting their master in The Return of the Jedi.
Do you have any other burning questions of theories now that you've seen The Last Jedi? Leave us your thoughts in the comments below.
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