We’ve been combing through Star Wars fan theories inspired by The Last Jedi, and these are five of the best, speculating on what might happen in Episode IX.
Just beware of Last Jedi spoilers ahead…
Snoke Will Return
Reddit user LazarusLong1981 simply posts ‘Snoke isn’t dead’ while countless others believe that the big-bad of The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi will be back in Episode IX.
It seems no one can quite fathom how a villain so underdeveloped could be dispatched in such throwaway fashion. But if he didn’t die, how did Snoke survive being cut in half?
The smart money seems to be via ‘Force Projection,’ with BioticsMage claiming: “He was never really there and he used Force Projection like Luke did.”
There’s also speculation that if he did die, Snoke will be back as a Force Ghost appearing to Kylo Ren in the final flick. Either way, the fans believe that we haven’t seen the last of Andy Serkis’s character.
The Knights of Ren Will Help Run the First Order
Redditor brobourne says, “Considering Snoke is potentially gone, could we see Kylo return to the Knights of Ren to help him run the First Order?”
JJ Abrams set the mysterious ‘Knights of Ren‘ up in The Force Awakens, pitching them as a shadowy organisation, overseen by Kylo Ren, and doing Supreme Leader Snoke’s bidding. They don’t get a mention in The Last Jedi, although fans have theorised that, following the altercation between Luke Skywalker and Ben Solo at the Jedi Temple, the trainee students that left with Ben became the Knights.
And with JJ back in charge for Episode IX, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see this storyline resurrected.
Palpatine is Still Active
Video courtesy of Star Wars Explained.
Redditor Joker-Ventura ventures that Emperor Palpatine might have died at the end of Return of the Jedi, but his spirit lived on.
As he puts it: “Emperor Palpatine’s body may be dead, but he exists in the force and unlike others who have passed on, he is taking an active part still in the galaxy. The part being as Snoke, who is just an alien he possessed, which is why I believe his quick death in The Last Jedi is meaningless, he can just come back into another body.”
And this theory proves popular in the comments largely because it fits with ‘Legends‘ mythology (see above video) and also because fans like the idea of a single villainous entity pulling the strings across all nine films.
Kylo Was Lying About Rey’s Parents
This theory seems to be splitting Star Wars fans down the middle. In The Force Awakens, JJ Abrams set up an intriguing mystery concerning Rey’s parentage. In The Last Jedi, Rian Johnson seemed to ignore that fact, with Kylo Ren telling Rey that her parents were nothings, nobodies; filthy junk traders who sold her off for drinking money.
Johnson has said that this is what Ren genuinely believes at that time. But there’s another school of thought, which Redditor Camwhite_guy explains as follows…
“Kylo Ren lied to Rey about her parents being nobodies. When I was watching the movie I remember saying to myself that I didn’t believe that. After reading other theories I was glad to see that I was not alone. Some explanations I’ve seen is that the reason he lied is because perhaps she’d be more likely to follow him if she believed that she came from nothing than if she knew she came from Jedi lineage.”
Were that true, Abrams could again finish what he started in Episode IX.
Luke Will Become a Force Ghost
Haven't seen my chin since May '15, so #FarewellFacialFur & #ByeByeBeard (at least til #EpisodeIX) @popculturequest pic.twitter.com/gaScz1okk6
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) August 30, 2016
This is a popular theory all over the Internet. As arkonpl puts it: “I have watched recently The Last Jedi and I thought that maybe in the last Star Wars movie, Luke will return as a Force Ghost. Maybe he will be shown like a mentor behind Rey during a fight with Kylo Ren?”
Based on the history of Force Ghosts in the franchise, this seems pretty likely. And Mark Hamill even said he needs his beard for Episode IX in the above Tweet. Might he fight Snoke’s Force Ghost? It’s certainly possible.
There’s also a theory doing the rounds that Luke had previously died and was a Force Ghost for all of The Last Jedi. But while we’re saying ‘maybe’ to most of these fan theories, we’re going to say a big fat no to that one.