The Most Convincing And Believable Fan Theories About Star Wars: Episode VIII

The identity of the Knights of Ren has puzzled Star Wars fans for some time. All we really know about them is that they are led by Kylo Ren and are dark side Force-users. However, it has been made clear by the filmmakers they are not Sith.

This does leave open the possibility they could be the former Jedi apprentices of Luke Skywalker, who were not killed when Ben Solo attacked the Academy, but rather joined him on his path to the dark side. According to Reddit user reverent_irrelevance, this kind of mutiny would be very likely to drive Luke into exile, as he would be distressed to see his former students turn to the dark side of the Force.

One particularly adamant fan theory popped up almost immediately after the title of Star Wars: Episode VIII was revealed to be The Last Jedi. The idea goes that Luke Skywalker will die at some point in the film. After all, he is currently the "last Jedi," something that was made clear in the opening crawl for The Force Awakens, and it looks like Rey is about to begin her own training to become a Jedi Knight after finding Luke in exile.

Several fans immediately leapt to the conclusion that this must mean the main protagonist from the original trilogy would have to die in order for new hero Rey to be truly considered the last Jedi. Considering Star Wars has never been afraid to kill off its main characters, and the fact that the new movies seem to focus on a new group of heroes, the Jedi Master could be on his way out.

The title The Last Jedi and the words uttered by Luke Skywalker in the trailer (“it’s time for the Jedi to end”) seem to suggest the Jedi Order is not going to continue in the Star Wars saga. At least, not in the form we're familiar with. After seeing the damage that can be done by sticking to the dogma of the Jedi when Ben Solo fell to the dark side of the Force, Luke might have concluded the austere nature of the Jedi is no longer useful.

The Jedi have been in constant conflict with the Sith for thousands of years, and have never been able to defeat them fully. This could mean that a new type of Force-user is needed, someone who can operate in the middle of the light and dark sides of the Force. These so-called “gray” Jedi would be a new, more balanced version of their predecessors. Rey, of course, would be the first pupil and eventual master.

This one isn’t too much of a stretch when it comes to fan theories. The Force Awakens even called Luke the last Jedi in the opening crawl, and there has been no evidence of other surviving Jedi in any of the material released since Disney took over the franchise.

When you consider that Star Wars has always been the story of the Skywalker family, it makes sense that Star Wars: Episode VIII will focus heavily on the Jedi Master, specifically on his mission to stop the dark side from becoming too powerful while possibly setting up a new (new) Jedi Order.

One interesting theory speculates that Rey could be related to Obi-Wan Kenobi. The popular school of thought is that she could be the granddaughter of the former Jedi Master. Little is known of Kenobi's life on Tatooine watching over Luke, and there was plenty of time between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope for him to become romantically involved with someone. The theory would explain why Rey is so powerful with the Force, despite her lack of training.

Several different people in the Star Wars community have suggested that Rey and Kylo Ren will have some sort of romance. Most theories center around the fact the two seem to have opposite arcs, with many positing Kylo will undergo redemption while Rey falls to the dark side.

This would also fit with the postulation there will be a combination of light side and dark side Force-users, with Kylo and Rey symbolically representing each ideology. Redditor curiousgem19 explains that it's clear the two share some sort of connection, and could become closer over the course of the next movie.