How ‘The Last Jedi’ Might Set Up Rian Johnson’s Trilogy

Star Wars: The Last Jedi may be director Rian Johnson‘s first foray into the Star Wars Universe, but it’s not his last. With The Last Jedi in theaters, Johnson is starting a brand-new trilogy set in the same galaxy. And while that new trilogy is set to be unrelated to what’s come before, The Last Jedi appears to have set things up for Johnson’s new story from the galaxy far, far away

Warning: Spoilers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi ahead.

While The Last Jedi might be the most divisive movie in the Star Wars franchise yet, the events of the film change the trajectory of the Star Wars universe forever. One of the major changes seen in The Last Jedi is the importance of heritage — or lack thereof — when it comes to heroics, Force sensitivity, and importance in the overall fight. In The Last Jedi, Rey is revealed to be a literal nobody. Her parents are no-name addicts on Jakku who sold their daughter off for drinking money. She’s not a Skywalker, a Kenobi, or anything that might explain her immense Force potential.

That one change completely dismantles the long-held Star Wars concept that you have to be someone to be extraordinary and that idea, that anyone can be extraordinary, opens the doors for all manner of new heroes to rise up to help carry the Resistance into the next generation. And speaking of that next generation, The Last Jedi may have even given fans a very obvious look at the direction Johnson’s new trilogy is going. One of the side stories involves Finn (John Boyega) and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) going off to casino planet Canto Bight on a quest to, ultimately, disarm the First Order’s ability to track the Resistance. For many, this story seemed like an odd tangent as it served as an opportunity to not only explore Rose’s history, but introduce us to a group of enslaved children who help Finn and Rose escape.

In the last moments of The Last Jedi, we revisit those children on Canto Bight. They are shown playing with crude toys representing Luke Skywalker taking on the First Order and is meant to show that hope has been restored. But the scene goes further with one little boy going outside to do his work and we see him summon his broom with the Force before gazing out into space and revealing that he’s wearing a ring with the Resistance’s emblem that Rose gave him.

These two things — the dismantling of the concept of legacy being paramount in Star Wars as well as revealing an actual embodiment of hope in the young stable boy and his untrained use of the Force might just be setting fans up for a fresh, new take on the larger Star Wars universe, offering up brand-new stories to tell.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is in theaters now.