Anticipation has been building over the last few years for the release of the latest episode in the Star Wars saga. The most recent film, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” hits theaters on December 15th.
After Episode 7 of the series, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” hit theaters in 2015 to much fanfare, there has been a renewed interest in the series that created the space opera genre of film. Episode 8 is helmed by director Rian Johnson, known for films like “Looper” and “The Brothers Bloom.” Episode 7 was directed by “Lost” creator J.J. Abrams, who will return to direct Episode 9 next year.
The film features an ensemble cast of familiar faces and newcomers, including the return of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, the central figure of the original Star Wars series. Adam Driver returns as Kylo Ren, the main villain in the story and the leader of The First Order, a remnant of The Galactic Empire that once reigned in terror over the galaxy. The film also features the final Star Wars appearance for the late Carrie Fisher, who died last year after completing her work on the film.
To say that there’s quite the buzz about this film would be a huge understatement. Over the years since the beginning of the Star Wars film series in the 1970s, excitement has only grown for the visually spectacular and wide-ranging space epic. The series survived a trilogy of prequels in the late 90s and early 2000s that were visually spectacular yet met with mixed reviews. They told the story of young Anakin Skywalker, the father of Luke and the eventual Darth Vader of the original series.
Despite this, the cultural phenomenon of Star Wars has only grown more ingrained in culture. It seems everyone, from young to old, are familiar with the story of Star Wars. When Fandango began preorders of tickets for “The Last Jedi” in October, their servers crashed due to heavy demand. The excitement is building, and opening weekend is expected to be abuzz with diehard fans in full costume, ready for another journey through the Star Wars universe.
If you’d like to delve further into the buzz about “The Last Jedi,” there are numerous YouTube videos that break down the film’s trailers and explain their theories about the plot points and visual cues seen in the film’s preview. It seems one can go as far into the Star Wars rabbit hole as they wish, exploring the countless forums, fan theories, side stories, and conjecture that exists out there.
Such a cultural phenomenon as Star Wars brings that old school magic back to the cinema, a place that has changed much with the advent of Netflix and other movie streaming services. Still, there’s nothing like seeing a box office spectacular on the big screen, and newest episode of the Star Wars saga is sure to deliver that and much more.
