Please be aware there The Last Jedi spoilers in this article. 

Considering how long we waited for a new Star Wars after the prequel trilogy, it's kind of crazy how long the wait feels between new trilogy chapters. But at last, after two very long years (and to be fair, 2017 has been especially long), the next chapter in the Star Wars saga is upon us with Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi... Which obviously means it's time to look ahead and star ponder what's in store for Episode IX.

Here's the crazy thing about the future of the Skywalker saga from here on out; Rian "Madman" Johnson went and broke all the rules, which means that the next chapter can truly go anywhere. Most of the key Star Wars elements are in complete upheaval at the end of The Last Jedi -- the Force is in the hands of a new generation, the Resistance is all but destroyed, and the First Order is in the hands of a wounded manchild who wants to burn it all down. Episode IX can go anywhere and do anything to introduce us to a new age in the history of a galaxy far, far away.

With that in mind, here are the biggest questions we have after The Last Jedi. 

Was Kylo Ren Telling the Truth About Rey's Parents?

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Image via Lucasfilm

This seems to be the big one everybody's hung up on after The Last Jedi and I'm of two minds about it. As Johnson intended, and as he expressed in interviews, yes, Kylo was telling Rey the truth about her parents. Or at least he believed he was. They're nobody junk traders who sold her for drinking money. However, and this is a big however, whether or not that remains true is entirely up to Abrams and the folks at Lucasfilm. And we know Abrams love to mythologize, so there's a very real possibility that he may course correct to fit his vision, especially considering there's always the possibility that what Kylo told her is true and both not true. Think about when Obi-Wan told Luke his father was dead -- it was the truth, kind of, but not 100%.

Johnson explains,

“I can’t speak to what they’re going to do. And there’s always, in these movies, a question of ‘a certain point of view,’…But for me, in that moment, Kylo believes it’s the truth. I don’t think he’s purely playing chess. I think that’s what he saw when they touched fingers and that’s what he believes. And when he tells her that in that moment, she believes it.”

Frankly, I hope they don't rewrite this particular bit of the mythology because it's fundamental to The Last Jedi's message -- anyone can be the hero. It doesn't take a "chosen one" or a bloodline, it takes a person willing to do the right thing. However, if Abrams and Co. choose to rewrite this reveal, it won't be entirely uncalled for. Even if Ren wasn't lying, it's safe to say his visions aren't especially trustworthy, especially considering their Force bond was being manipulated by Snoke. But Rey's reaction certainly made the reveal ring true, she knew it, Kylo knew it, and at least for this viewer, a reversal at this point would feel a bit jarring.

How Will 'Episode IX' Send off Leia?

Image via Lucasfilm
Image via Lucasfilm

Straight up, this just sucks. Losing Carrie Fisher was a big blow for us all because she was a wildly impressive woman in her own right with an important, unmistakable voice and I in no way mean to diminish the loss of her in real life. But it's also quite a blow to the Star Wars narrative, and particularly because she was staged to become a driving figure in Episode IX. Kathleen Kennedy said that Episode IX was meant to be Leia's movie in the way that The Force Awakens centered on Han Solo and The Last Jedi on Luke Skywalker.

Having seen The Last Jedi, that fact becomes crystal clear -- she's the last of the OT generation (even poor Admiral Ackbar bit the dust in this one), she finally tapped into her Force powers, and with the Resistance all but destroyed, she was poised to guide the rebels through their darkest hour, just as she always had. To echo the common refrain, representation matters, and to see a powerful older woman, the last holdout of a generation, leading the charge and taking center stage in a billion dollar blockbuster would have been something truly special.

But real life doesn't hold for Star Wars, and Carrie Fisher is so sadly gone, which puts Episode IX in a real hotspot when it comes to sending off Leia. Because at the end of The Last Jedi, she's alive and well and one o the few survivors aboard the Millenium Falcon, which means Abrams has to do some real fancy footwork to send her off in style. Recasting seems out of the question, Lucasfilm has already said they won't resurrect Fisher digitally and Kathleen Kennedy confirmed. "Sadly, Carrie will not be in IX,” she told ABC back in April.

Now, a lot of time has passed since April and it's always possible that the creative team could change their minds, but taking that statement at face value, the most popular theory is that Episode IX will begin with a time jump and Leia's death will be explained in the opening crawl. Or, that Leia's absence will be explained in some way (off on a mission blah blah) and she'll essentially be Paul Walkered out of the franchise. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I hope neither of those happen. Leia's legacy deserves better resolution than a one-liner obit or simply to never be seen again. I'd prefer a combination of digital work and camera trickery to say goodbye properly, but the truth is there's no easy or right answer here and we'll probably never get to see the proper send-off our princess deserves.

Will Luke Return as a Force Ghost?

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Image via Lucasfilm

Luke's arc in The Last Jedi has become a bit of a controversial topic among fans, some of whom feel his dark turn after failing Ben Solo betrays the ever-optimistic hero. I'll dig my heels in here and say I love it, outright. It's the natural followthrough for the ground laid in The Force Awakens, and in the context of The Last Jedi, Luke's journey is a fascinating deconstruction of the hero myth. In the end, he went out on his own terms, doing the right thing, and facing his failures instead of hiding from them. But that doesn't necessarily mean we're not going to see him again.

We saw our first Force ghost of the new trilogy in The Last Jedi, and I'd bet my bottom dollar it wasn't just an opportunity to bring back Yoda (though that is very entertaining in its own right), but a move that sets the stage for Luke to return. From a merchandising perspective alone, the prospect of a Luke Skywalker Force ghost seems too good to pass up. But who will he be ghosting around? Rey would certainly make sense since he definitely still owes her a lesson or two, but considering what he told Ren just before his death, I wonder if he won't be hanging around his big bad nephew. "Strike me down in anger and I'll always be with you," Luke told Ren, mimicking Obi-Wan's famous line. There's something about a mad king haunted by the ghost of his righteous mentor that I find very appealing. Of course, Luke followed that line up with "Like your father," who is decidedly not hanging around as a Force ghost, so it's possible we're all reading too much into it and he has no intention of haunting his nephew/prodigy gone wrong.

Has Kylo Ren Really Gone Full Evil?

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Image via Lucasfilm

The dance between light and dark played out between Rey and Kylo Ren is arguably the strongest aspect of The Last Jedi and Johnson does enough subversive rule-bending to make you believe that either character could actually switch sides. But after all the atrocious sins committed by Ren, his redemption was already a stretch, especially in the second film, and at the end, it seems clear that he has made his choice and descended into full-on villainy. But is that really in his character makeup? Or will he always remain conflicted, no matter how hard he tries to push away the Light and drown himself in his dark powers?

I certainly hope it's the latter, because that's a much more complex and compelling to follow and Ren's final rageful assault on Crait strikes me as one of his signature tantrums blown up to epic proportions. In the wake of murdering his own father, a deed that "split his soul to the bone" rather than giving him the resolve he craved, Ren is truly alone for the first time -- he killed Snoke, Luke and even his mother have given up on him, Rey has given up on him, and his second in command hates his guts. He's volatile, powerful, and angry so will he stay locked in a perma-tantrum? Or will he continue to struggle with his choice to rule with darkness? Even though Luke and Leia gave up on him, is there still a chance for redemption in Ren's tortured soul? At this point, probably not, but it sure is more interesting.

How Will The Ticking Hux Bomb Explode?

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Image via Lucasfilm

The petulant rivalry between Kylo Ren and General Hux in The Force Awakens made for some beautiful Tumblr fodder, but The Last Jedi escalates it to outright loathing after Ren kills Snoke and assumes the role of Supreme Leader. Hux was pulling his blaster and ready to fire when Ren was unconscious, and while the beat was played for comedy, his disdain for his new leader becomes clearer with each subsequent scene. Hux cajoles and mocks Ren until he's literally bashed into a wall -- an action that will no doubt sit poorly with the sniveling, power-hungry stooge. So how will his suppressed rage manifest? Will attempt a coup to remove Ren from power? He seems too cowardly for an action that outright, but certainly, there's a mighty angst a'brewin' in Hux now that Ren is his Supreme Leader and I can't stop visualizing his shrieking face, a teakettle boiling over, when he's finally had enough.

What Is the Future of The Force?

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Image via Lucasfilm

For the first time since the original trilogy, the Force felt like a wonderous, expansive idea in The Last Jedi, something that Johnson played with fearlessly and extended in exciting ways. He introduced new abilities, like Rey and Kylo Ren's shared Force connection (and I'm very curious to see if they'll be able to do that again without Snoke's interference). He also gave the force to everyone, a thematic push that puts hope back in the hands of the everyman, cemented by Rey's inauspicious parentage and the slave boy on Canto Bight. So with Snoke and Luke both gone and a new generation of Force users rising, what's next for the Force, the Light, and the Dark?

Rey had some training from Luke, though certainly an unconventional style of it, and she has a number of the sacred Jedi texts on board to Millenium Falcon, so she seems poised to become the leader of the new generation of Jedi. But what does that mean when she herself is so minimally versed in the ways of the Jedi relgion? Perhaps this is what will bring Luke back as a Force ghost, to help Rey learn how to lead the Jedi, or perhaps she will simply reinvent it. Luke passed the baton to a new generation via Rey, and I'm very very interested to see how she runs with it.

What's the Future of the Resistance?

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Image via Lucasfilm

The Resistance was already on their last leg when we catch up with them at the beginning of The Last Jedi and that was before they lost their entire bombing fleet, all their X-Wings, most of their leadership, and enough of their numbers that the entire surviving Resistance could fit on the Millenium Falcon at the end of the film. And because of the sad real-life circumstances, we know they're about to lose Leia too. Yikes. As Holdo said and Poe Dameron repeated, they are the spark that will light the fire and Dameron is certainly well-poised to become the new leader, but they've definitely got some work to do. Not only has the Resistance been decimated, not a single ally responded to their calls for help on Crait and that was using Leia's "personal code". So what the hell do they do next?

The Last Jedi's final scene indicates that the spark is working and the fire is blooming. We circle back to the slave boys on Canto Bight, playacting Luke's last stand, and we learn one of those kids is a Force user, wearing Rose's resistance ring, inspired. So yes, the spark is kindling a new generation of rebels, but that young fella is far to young to pack up and join the Resistance and they've got a very angry Kylo Ren on their tail like right now, so how the heck is the Resistance going to stay alive, how are they going to find the resources to battle the First Order or whatever incarnation of it Ren creates, and what form will the Resistance take without the touchstones and leaders we know and love?