Why Star Wars fans still argue about The Last Jedi — 8 years later

Almost eight years ago, we got Star Wars: The Last Jedi. But the discourse around it never died down.

You can see discussions and debates revolving around the franchise on Twitter and Reddit. People also talk about it at conventions. Some fans say it was the boldest Star Wars movie yet. Others think it was the moment the series went wrong.

The movie made a lot of surprising choices. Star Wars means so much to many people, and every creative choice made by the makers profoundly impacts the fandom.

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Why Star Wars fans still argue about The Last Jedi?

The weight of expectations

Star Wars: The Last Jedi was released after The Force Awakens. Fans waited for answers. Who is Rey? Why did Luke leave? Who is Supreme Leader Snoke? People wanted the movie to fit their own ideas.

But director Rian Johnson chose a different way. He broke fan theories. Rey’s parents were not famous. They were just as usual, regular people. Snoke was not the main villain; he died halfway through the movie.

Luke was not a brave hero. He was tired and had lost hope. These choices surprised fans. Some liked it because Star Wars was still able to surprise them. Others felt upset. They thought the movie ignored the old story and the characters they loved. This clash between what fans wanted and what the movie gave them caused many arguments.

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Luke Skywalker’s controversial portrayal

Luke Skywalker really got people talking. In the old movies, he was the hero. He was hopeful and brave. Star Wars fans waited years to see him again. They thought he would be a wise Jedi Master. But in the new movie, Luke was different. He looked tired and angry. He lived alone. He even thought about hurting his nephew, Ben Solo, because he saw darkness in him.

Some fans liked this change. They said it made Luke more real. He had flaws like everyone else had. Other fans hated it. They believed Luke would never give up. They thought he would always fight for hope. This argument is still going strong. People still talk about Luke’s new story. It is one of the biggest fights in the Star Wars fan world.

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Risk-taking plotlines

The Last Jedi changed a lot in Star Wars. It didn’t use the normal hero story. Instead, it asked, “What is a Jedi? What is a hero?” The movie showed that anyone can be important. You don’t need a famous family. Rey is just a regular person. That is the main idea.

Some fans liked this change. They thought it made Star Wars new and modern. Others wanted Rey to be part of a big Star Wars family, just like the Skywalkers or Kenobi. They missed the old connections.

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Humor and tone

Humor in The Last Jedi really split people. The movie opens with a “yo mama” joke. Luke throws his old lightsaber away. That surprised a lot of fans. Some people say Star Wars always had jokes. Han Solo made sarcastic comments. R2-D2 beeped and acted funny.

But others think the jokes in The Last Jedi felt wrong. They say the comedy ruined the serious parts. It made the movie feel less important. Star Wars always tries to mix big drama with funny moments. It’s not easy to get that right. In The Last Jedi, many viewers think the balance was off. Fans still debate whether the jokes worked or not. The argument continues.

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The casino subplot

Many fans did not like the Canto Bight scenes in The Last Jedi. Finn and Rose go to a big casino planet. Through this part, the filmmakers wanted to show that some people get rich from war while the poor suffer. But some argued that this scene did not fit well, and the main story slows down. The fight between the Resistance and the First Order gets pushed aside.

Some people did enjoy these scenes. They said it’s cool to see more of the galaxy and not just Jedi stuff.

Even so, many fans think Finn’s story suffered. He seemed important after The Force Awakens, but this side adventure didn’t help him grow. Because of this, people complain about how the new movies treated certain characters.

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Divisions in the fandom

The Last Jedi is not just a new Star Wars movie; it really split the fanbase. Before this movie, Star Wars fans argued, but this film made the divide much bigger and lasting. Some fans liked the bold choices and themes. Others felt upset by how the movie treated their favorite characters.

Social media made these fights even louder. The debates got heated and sometimes even nasty. Some people attacked the actors online. Even Kelly Marie Tran, on-screen Rose, left Instagram due to so much harassment. This dark side of the fandom is now part of the film’s legacy.

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Cultural and generational clash

The Last Jedi started a huge fight in pop culture. Older fans remembered the original trilogy and wanted the same old Star Wars. Younger fans liked the new ideas. People argued about keeping traditions or trying something different. Some wanted nostalgia, others wanted change.

Now, the debate is bigger than the movie. It shows how much stories from childhood matter to people. It also proves how hard it is to make everyone happy with a famous franchise like Star Wars.

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Disney’s response and the sequel trilogy’s struggles

Because of fan issues, Disney changed how they made The Rise of Skywalker. They did not follow Johnson’s bold ideas. Instead, they chose a safer way. Rey’s parents were now related to Emperor Palpatine, not random people. Luke came back as a hopeful ghost. Snoke was shown as a puppet.

Many people saw these choices as a response to fan backlash. And because of this, The Last Jedi became even more controversial. The Last Jedi fans said The Rise of Skywalker erased Johnson’s ideas. Critics of The Last Jedi felt the new movie tried to fix old mistakes. The different directions in the trilogy showed the problems of not having a clear plan from the start.

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Why the debate is still unresolved?

We must say that The Last Jedi made people ask questions about failing, who they are, and what they leave behind. Fans still argue about those things. Also, this movie forced Star Wars to pick a path. Should it do the same thing again or try something new?