The Last Jedi director proves Luke Skywalker twist has precedent

It’s not every day that a filmmaker has to cite precedent, but in legacy stories like Star Wars, sometimes it’s called for.

The Last Jedi filmmaker Rian Johnson was apparently responding to questions about the finale of the new film when he posted Friday on Twitter a series of images that back up a key moment in the movie.

The scene in question is near the end, when — SPOILER ALERT! — Luke Skywalker fools Kylo Ren by projecting an image of himself across the galaxy for a showdown that saves the remnants of the Resistance.

Johnson already backs up this twist several times within the movie. Early on, Luke incredulously foreshadows this climax when he asks Rey if she expects him to face down the entire First Order with a laser sword.

But also, when Kylo Ren and Rey are communicating in shared visions with each other (dubbed “Force Skype” by some fans), Ren speculates that she couldn’t possibly be the one projecting her own image. “The effort would kill you,” he says.

Those books were de-canonized and moved to the “Legends” category when Lucasfilm began producing new movies, but filmmakers such as Dave Filoni, who executive produces the animated Rebels series, have been re-canonizing their favorite parts by including them in current stories.

Either way, it has a history. And now similfuturus has been added to your lexicon.

UPDATE: Johnson also responded to fan questions about how Leia Organa could summon the Force to save herself after being pulled into the vacuum of space after an explosion.