With The Force Awakens, fans got to revisit worlds and characters not seen in nearly 30 years, with a variety of Easter eggs showing up throughout as nods to the original Star Wars trilogy. The upcoming The Last Jedi likely won’t feature as many homages to the original films, given it’s the continuation of a new film, but one reference is sure to conjure a few tears.
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***WARNING: Spoilers below for The Last Jedi***
In the new book Rey’s Journey, we learn that Luke boards the Millennium Falcon after Rey arrives on Ahch-To. While aboard the vessel, Luke reunites with his old friend R2-D2 who shows the Jedi the message Leia sent to Obi-Wan Kenobi that kicked off the adventure in the original Star Wars.
The book reads, “While Chewie made new friends, Luke found an old friend. He went to the Millennium Falcon and found R2-D2. The droid beeped with happiness. R2-D2 had missed Luke. R2-D2 showed Luke an old hologram. It was a message from long ago. It was young Leia asking for help. Luke had helped his sister then. And she needed his help again. Luke decided to train Rey.”
Knowing that this film serves as Carrie Fisher’s final portrayal of Leia, the iconic hologram’s appearance is sure to create an emotional reaction with audiences.
Another element that makes this scene so interesting is that, throughout most of the original trilogy, Leia and Luke were merely allies, with audiences not getting to see much of their familial interactions in Return of the Jedi following Yoda revealing their heritage. Their dynamic would have changed in the years following the death of their father.
What could potentially be an interesting revelation is that Luke began his journey with the Rebellion after seeing this message, despite not knowing he was ultimately helping his sister. If this same message inspires him to train Rey, we could eventually learn this was another opportunity to train a family member, in the event that Rey is Luke’s daughter.
Fans will get to see this sequence play out when The Last Jedi lands in theaters on December 15.
[H/T Imgur]
