When the official title for Episode VIII, Star Wars: The Last Jedi was revealed yesterday, it may have sounded familiar. The title is catchy, and snappy, it implies a sense of finality and doom – and all in the title for the second movie in a trilogy, and that’s been very intriguing for fans.
Videos by ComicBook.com
NEXT: Star Wars Episode VIII: Who Is The Last Jedi?
But if that particular title sounded a little familiar, you’re not wrong – you’re just a deeply entrenched Star Wars fan. With the old expanded universe, now known as Legends, encompassing hundreds of books and thousands of comics, a phrase like “The Last Jedi” was sure to have popped up before, and popped up it has.
Here are three other times “The Last Jedi” has been a Star Wars story.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi – A Fan Film
In this fan film, by director Joel Loukus, it starts with a child and his Jedi parents. In this case, the child is The Last Jedi, after his parents are slain by a mysterious enemy. The fan film is a three-parter about the eradication of all Force users. Part two sees the child growing older as he trains to save and restore the Jedi order, and part three has him taking on the enemies fully. The fan film is from 2014, and available to watch in full on Youtube – and it’s a safe bet it has essentially nothing in common with the upcoming movie.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi – the Legends Novel
In this Legends novel (as in, not considered canon at all), from 2013 by Michael Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, a Jedi named Jax Pavan has been on the run since Order 66 came down and exterminated the vast majority of the Jedi order. He continues to try to fight the Empire and the dark side, but it doesn’t go too well for him or his crew… obviously. Don’t expect this to have any influence on the film either, but yeah, the title is there.
Marvel Comics’ Star Wars #49 – The Last Jedi
Finally we reach way back to Star Wars #49, printed by Marvel Comics in 1981. The issue, with “The Last Jedi!” on the front cover, was written by Mike W. Barr and drawn by Walt Simonson. The issue sees Luke and Leia trying to save a lost prince and return him to his home for a right of succession, as they work with a Force-sensitive named (seriously) Jedidiah – or Jedi for short. It was a different era, y’all. It is notable for including a blatantly alien (as in non-human) potential Jedi. Obviously, it’s not a canon publication, but it’s another fun look at the past and the history or the term “The Last Jedi”.
