Celebrating 7 Years of ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi’

7 years ago today, the Skywalker Saga received one of its greatest and most controversial entries with Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi.

Looking back:

• The Last Jedi was one of the most anticipated Star Wars films of all time after the incredible success of The Force Awakens, which still holds the record for the highest grossing domestic film of all time
• The film promised to capitalize on Episode VII’s cliffhanger ending which featured Rey meeting Jedi Master Luke Skywalker in an attempt to return him from his exile
• Rian Johnson’s relationship with Lucasfilm was so good that he was announced as the creator of an entire trilogy over a month before the film premiered

By the numbers:

• The Last Jedi grossed $104 million in its first day and $220 million in its first weekend, both the second-highest amounts of all time
• Episode VIII also became the second-highest grossing Star Wars film of all time with $1.3 billion worldwide
• A critical darling, the movie also became one of the best reviewed projects in the Skywalker Saga with a 91% Rotten Tomatoes score

The controversy:

• Despite an intensely favorable reaction from critics and opening night audiences, public perception of the film began to turn citing the characterization of Luke Skywalker and Finn’s lesser role as popular criticism
• Further outrage began to appear online with comments ripe with sexism, racism, and other forms of harassment littering social media profiles of actors like Daisy Ridley and Kelly Marie Tran who were forced off of their platforms as a result
• This intense hatred gave birth to online harassment groups like The Fandom Menace who continue to harass and criticize any Star Wars project seen as “woke” due to its inclusion of any non-white or non-male characters to this day

The future:

• Despite the loud minority of voices against the film, The Last Jedi remains a striking example of the power of Star Wars storytelling
• Once attacked by hordes online, actors like Daisy Ridley, Kelly Marie Tran, and John Boyega have continued to have wonderfully successful careers both inside and outside the Disney umbrella
• Writer-director Rian Johnson’s Star Wars trilogy has not received any updates in quite some time, but he has remained busy creating the wildly successful Knives Out series in partnership with Netflix

The Last Jedi is one of the boldest and most beautiful entries in the Star Wars saga, and thanks to the passion of the creators behind it and the excitement of the fans who continue to sing its praises, it will remain an integral part of the franchise’s history for years to come.