Ever since ‘The Last Jedi‘ opened Rey’s story with her scene with Luke from the end of ‘The Force Awakens,’ fans have wondered at h0w exactly time was going to be handled in the final film of the new ‘Star Wars’ trilogy. Add to the chaos the fact that General Leia is still alive (though Carrie Fisher has since passed), and the fact that the Resistance was whittled down to but a few handful of survivors, barely enough to fill the Millenium Falcon by the end of ‘The Last Jedi,’ and it would have been very odd to have the final film of the trilogy pick up right where ‘The Last Jedi,’ left off. Luckily, according to John Boyega in the latest edition of Empire magazine, it seems there will be a bit of a time jump between ‘The Last Jedi’ and ‘Episode IX.’
Here’s the excerpt that ‘Star Wars Stuff‘ tweeted to confirm the year between the films:
John Boyega has confirmed that Star Wars: Episode #IX takes place ONE YEAR after the events of ‘The Last Jedi’. [Empire Issue] pic.twitter.com/wC8iOV9Bv6
— Star Wars Stuff (@starwarstuff) December 22, 2018
One year makes a good amount of sense, as it gives the Resistance time to build on that “spark” they were so excited about in ‘The Last Jedi,’ which hopefully will have grown to a full-grown roaring rebellion against the First Order by ‘Episode IX.’ It also gives them time to set up General Leia’s send-off. Even if they are keeping her around with unused footage from ‘The Force Awakens,’ there is only so much magic JJ Abrams and company will be able to accomplish with that footage, so they clearly need a plan to write out her character. With having a year between films for Leia to build the Resistance back up, they can write her out gracefully with her legacy intact. (Otherwise, if ‘Episode IX’ took place immediately after ‘The Last Jedi’ and Leia disappeared, her legacy would be somewhat tarnished, as she would have left the Resistance in a state where it was a pale shadow of its former self). Lastly, with the year gap, this gives Rey time to build up her Jedi repertoire off-screen, with both the books she took from the Jedi Tree and, perhaps, with the help from the Force Ghost of Luke Skywalker we are all assuming will show up in ‘Episode IX.’ This will help give credibility to all of her crazy abilities with the Force which we never saw her train to get, as now she will have a solid year of study and practice under her belt, similar to Luke between ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ and ‘Return of the Jedi.’
What are your thoughts on the year between films? Do you like the idea? Do you think it is too long? Too short? Feel free to share your opinions in the comments below!
Source: Collider