Star Wars fans are getting pretty anxious right about now, with the insanely hyped Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer only about a week away. But to sooth all our cravings, a fresh batch of plot rumors spell out what might be the climactic battle in the eagerly awaited sequel to The Force Awakens. Of course, possible spoilers will follow from here on out, so read on at your own risk.
We already knew that The Last Jedi will devote a decent portion of its runtime to Luke Skywalker’s Jedi training of Rey on Ahch-to, but what’s happening to Finn, Poe, and all the rest while she’s learning how to levitate rocks? Apparently, we’re to see the galactic war between the Resistance and the First Order escalate into a climactic battle on the planet Crete, which is described as a “giant salt flat with stretches of large volcanic rocks,” with lava leaking onto the battlefield. It’s on this risky territory that the First Order will be deploying their “Gorilla walkers,” huge armed monster machines that are a damn sight quicker than the clunky old AT-ATs and will take more than a cleverly wound wire to bring down.
Crete is critically important, too, as it’s the site of a mine in which gems are produced that fund the Resistance forces. Naturally, the First Order figure that if they can hit the Resistance in the wallet, their military capabilities will be drastically reduced, making this a crucial weak-spot for General Leia.
It sounds a little similar to the Battle of Hoth, but given that that’s one of the finest battles in the Star Wars canon, that’s no bad thing. Still, with the confirmation of this plus the focus on Jedi training, it looks like Disney is leaving themselves open to criticism that The Last Jedi is aping The Empire Strikes Back in much the same way as The Force Awakens felt a lot like a reworked A New Hope.
If it follows along this trajectory, could we also get some shocking familial revelation in the final scenes of Star Wars: The Last Jedi? After all, we still don’t know who Rey’s parents are…