"The Last Jedi": Title, logo for "Star Wars: Episode VIII" is released

We know what "Star Wars: Episode VIII" is going to be called — and it doesn't look good for Luke Skywalker

By Matthew Rozsa

Staff Writer

Published January 23, 2017 4:57PM (EST)

 (Lucasfilm Limited)
(Lucasfilm Limited)

"Star Wars" fans who have eagerly awaited the release of the second film in the new sequel trilogy have been offered a new clue: The full title will be "Star Wars - The Last Jedi."

"We have the greatest fans in this or any other galaxy. In appreciation of the fans, we wanted them to be the first to know the title of the next chapter in the Skywalker saga: Star Wars: The Last Jedi," wrote the official Star Wars website on Monday

Hopes are no doubt going to be high for the new film, which was guided by a different creative crew than the ones responsible for 2015's smash hit "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." That film was directed by J. J. Abrams and written by both Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan, who had also co-wrote "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi." The new film, on the other hand, has been both written and directed by Rian Johnson, who is best known for the critically acclaimed science fiction film "Looper" and for directing several episodes of "Breaking Bad," including perhaps the series' most notable episode "Ozymandias."

Because the word "Jedi" can be either singular or plural, the new "Star Wars" title doesn't necessarily bode ill for the future of the galaxy. That said, given how the last film began with the Jedi having been reduced to the status of myth and ended with an in-hiding Luke Skywalker being called upon to return to fighting the Empire, it suggests that Skywalker's fate in the new movie will be very much up in the air.

"The Last Jedi" is confirmed to star Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Mark Hamill.


By Matthew Rozsa

Matthew Rozsa is a staff writer at Salon. He received a Master's Degree in History from Rutgers-Newark in 2012 and was awarded a science journalism fellowship from the Metcalf Institute in 2022.

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Star Wars Star Wars: The Last Jedi