Who Loses an Arm in ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’?

Fans have come to expect a variety of key Star Wars components to appear in each new film, from lightsabers to Force powers to dysfunctional families. Another trend that regularly appears is that at least one character is dismembered to some degree, oftentimes losing an arm. This trend continues in The Last Jedi, which features a severe dismemberment.

***WARNING: Major spoilers below for The Last Jedi***

Towards the end of the second act, Kylo brings the imprisoned Rey to Supreme Leader Snoke, having taken advantage of her hopes that he’d embrace the Light Side of the Force and turn on Snoke.

During this exchange, Snoke uses his Force abilities to torture Rey, causing Kylo to ignite Rey’s lightsaber, which sits next to Snoke, to fatally injure the Supreme Leader. He then draws the saber to him with his Force abilities, bisecting Snoke.

Later in the film, General Hux approaches Snoke’s body to see that not only has he been cut in half, but the saber has detached his arm from his body as well.

Given that these films are often geared towards younger audiences, the sequence is quite graphic. However, much like the incorporation of the line, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” audiences have come to expect these violent exchanges, dating all the way back to the first movie.

The most memorable limb that is severed is Ponda Baba’s arm in the Mos Eisley cantina after he threatens Obi-Wan and Luke, in addition to C-3PO losing a limb during a Tusken Raider attack. In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke narrowly escapes the wampa by cutting off his right arm, only to later lose his right hand during his conflict with Vader. C-3PO is also a victim of amputation while on Cloud City. Luke gets to return the dismembering favor in Return of the Jedi when he cuts off his father’s hand during their fateful duel.

In The Phantom Menace, Darth Maul is cut in half by Obi-Wan before falling down a chasm. Attack of the Clones features bounty hunter Zam Wesell losing her arm after attempting to assassinate Padmé while Anakin loses his arm in a duel with Count Dooku. Revenge of the Sith lives up to its name, with Dooku losing his hands and head, Mace Windu losing his hand and Anakin losing his legs and another arm.

The Force Awakens broke this trend of dismemberment, yet it did feature C-3PO having a new, red arm.

Fans can see the violent dismemberment for themselves in The Last Jedi, which is in theaters now.