Who knew three little words could cause so much fuss? It seems like we’ve been waiting an age to find out the name of the next Star Wars movie, and indeed, we knew about The Force Awakens title much earlier than we did its sequel. Finally though, Disney and Lucasfilm have put us out of our misery and revealed that the name of Star Wars 8 is… *drumroll* The Last Jedi. Phew, we can all relax now. Or can we? As soon as the name was announced fans started speculating what it could mean, whether they liked it, if the cast approved… basically, everything. So, because we just can’t stop talking about it, here’s what a panel of 12DOVE writer really think about The Last Jedi name.
"Those three little words could mean just about anything."
As far as titles go The Last Jedi seems to be specifically designed to excite and infuriate fans in equal measure. Those three little words could mean just about anything. Is it a singular or plural Jedi is the main issue. If it’s singular, is Luke or Rey the character in question? Or, if it's plural, will we get a Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan setup with Luke and Rey teaming up? (Which would be so cool.) But to add even more uncertainty, there's no timescale. Could it actually be referring to the Jedi that Luke was training before Kylo Ren turned to the dark side? They definitely were the last Jedi up until now. Then there's the fact that if you put episodes 7 and 8 together you get the start of a sentence: 'The Force Awakens The Last Jedi...' Coincidence? Or are Disney playing a long game here? Leon Hurley
"The Last Jedi is almost too on the nose."
Simple. Iconic. And rich with implications about what’s to come. As these things go, The Last Jedi is almost too on the nose. “Luke Skywalker has vanished,” reads the opening text crawl of The Force Awakens. “In his absence, the sinister FIRST ORDER has risen from the ashes of the Empire and will not rest until Skywalker, the last Jedi, has been destroyed.” There’s no mystery about who the last Jedi is. Return of the Jedi told us. Yoda spelled things out pretty clearly as well. “When gone am I, the last of the Jedi will you be.” Then he laid down some perturbing knowledge about who the last Jedi had been snogging in the previous movie. Anthony Agnello
"I love not knowing, but not as much as I love speculating."
The Last Jedi is an excellent name, because it tells us almost nothing. One Jedi? Two? A of consulate of Jedi? It doesn’t even matter. I love not knowing, but not as much as I love speculating about what it could mean. It’s ambiguous enough for my favourite, probably-nonsense fan theory about Kylo Ren to still be true: perhaps he’s The Last Jedi, secretly playing the long-con to get to Snoke? (If you haven’t read that one, head over to our Star Wars 8 theories and check it out.) Best of all, it reminds us what an exciting place Star Wars suddenly is, without ruining the the mystique of the movie itself. A red poster and vague title is enough to get people speculating, which feels refreshing after seeing so many good ideas squandered in the prequels. Right now, The Last Jedi means what you want it to mean - an awesome feeling after years of drab predictability. Matt Elliott
"I’m so underwhelmed I could cry."
In all honesty, I find The Last Jedi title a bit boring. I don’t hate it, and yes, it’s miles better than some of the weird prequel titles we got, but… The Last Jedi? I’m so underwhelmed I could cry. So, you’re telling me that the new Star Wars movie has a Jedi or multiple Jedi in it? Great! Never would have guessed that. Also, we already have a Star Wars title with Jedi in it: The Return of the Jedi. Surely, they could have come up with something different? Even the ‘last’ part of the title could be better. I mean, Yoda already told us Luke would be the last Jedi once he was gone - it’s obvious. And I know some people think it could be a bluff and the last Jedi could actual refer to Rey or even Kylo Ren, but even that wouldn’t be that surprising. On the whole, I think Disney made the right choice going for something simple and straight to the point, but it’s hardly got me jumping up and down with excitement. Lauren O’Callaghan
"It seems a simple title, but it's also very clever."
I love it. As previously mentioned, it's a really powerful, straight-to-the point, desperately profound phrase that resonates wonderfully with the final images of The Force Awakens - and loads of important themes and moments throughout the whole saga - but without actually saying anything specific. It screams 'This is totally legit Star Wars, and an important part of everything you've seen before', but it lets you run wild with imagining what it might mean. That's exactly what a good sequel title should do, and it's fundamentally what a good Star Wars title has to do. Also, the lead-heavy ominous nature of the wording - and smart shift to red text - is a potent statement of intent, bellowing 'Heavy, dramatic, middle part' as loudly as a title could. It seems a simple title, and it is, but it's also very, very clever. David Houghton
The Big Question returns next Friday to debate the week's biggest talking point in games, movie, or TV from a variety of 12DOVE writers' perspectives.
