With Star Wars: The Last Jedi almost upon us, it's time to ask the important questions:
who is Snoke?
Is Luke truly the last Jedi?
Who are Rey's parents?
And of course, who's not going to make it out alive?
It's all but a given that somebody will bite it in the name of plot progression, but some
characters are more likely to rejoin the Force than others.
These Star Wars favorites stand a very good chance of not making it to Episode 9, and
here's why.
Poe Dameron
Poe's a pretty popular and likeable character, but he's definitely the third most important
hero in the New Trilogy, behind Rey and Finn.
So, if one of the young good guys has to go, it's almost certainly going to be him.
If he does die, it would actually be a long time coming.
Poe wasn't originally going to make it out of The Force Awakens alive.
But actor Oscar Isaac asked for a bigger role because he was sick of checking out so early
on in his films.
Ultimately, director J.J. Abrams promoted him to "main character" status, but the fact
that they've considered axing him before suggests they could consider it again.
Finn might want to find a backup buddy, just in case.
General Hux
If The Last Jedi is to be the Empire Strikes Back of the New Trilogy, that means the villains
will dominate.
But that doesn't mean they all have to survive—'cause somebody has to take one for the dark team.
No way will that be Kylo or Snoke; they're too important to the story's core.
So that means the First Order's General Hux might be on the chopping block.
He's not Force-sensitive, and he and Kylo Ren are constantly at each other's throats
over strategy.
If they clash badly enough that Snoke's forced to choose one, he's almost certainly going
to choose Kylo over the powerless military dude.
So what if he's really, really good at commanding stormtroopers?
That's not a unique skill set, and Snoke could likely find a replacement fast.
In fact, he's already got one: Captain Phasma.
Of course, she's not a guaranteed survivor of this sequel either …
Captain Phasma
Whether or not Hux meets his end in The Last Jedi, Phasma may be running out of time as
well and could finally face the fate she evaded at the trash compactor in The Force Awakens.
Phasma's a pretty popular character, thanks to the fact that she's female, portrayed by
Game of Thrones' Gwendoline Christie, and rocks some silver, rather than the usual drab
white.
But there hasn't been a lot to her character yet besides being a tough, stoic leader.
We haven't seen her face, and we know little about the reasons behind what she does and
how she feels about it.
Unless The Last Jedi tackles those issues, or at least makes her more human by showing
her face, losing her wouldn't really affect Star Wars one way or the other.
Chewbacca
Just about any Original Trilogy character could be knocking on the midichlorians' door,
and lovable old Chewie is no different.
Now that his partner and best buddy Han is no more, and now that we have the Porgs to
fill the saga's "fuzzy adorable creature" quota, Chewbacca's suddenly pretty expendable.
Besides, Chewie's actor, Peter Mayhew, is simply too old to continue playing the role.
Lucasfilm found another seven-footer to wear the fuzzy suit, but it's not easy to recast
a character so beloved.
It might be prudent for Disney to give us new-guy Chewie for just one movie, so we can
say a proper goodbye to our beloved arm-ripping teddy bear.
Then we can watch him sacrifice himself heroically in battle, taking as many of the First Order
with him as he can, just like Han would've wanted.
Unkar Plutt
When last we saw Unkar Plutt, he was raging because Rey refused to sell him BB-8 and then
flew off in the Millennium Falcon, which he claimed was his.
Aside from that, he's been a dangling plot piece—a guy who has no real role anymore,
but who hasn't died yet either… despite having his arm ripped off in a deleted scene.
(what watching Episode I feels like)
So unless The Last Jedi plans to make him a major pain in the neck for Rey, it's best
to just end him.
In fact, get rid of him anyway, because he deserves it.
Admiral Ackbar
Of all the Original Trilogy characters to survive this long, few are more surprising
than Admiral Ackbar.
He has no real ties to the plot, and his character is almost entirely based on his Return of
the Jedi line that the internet meme machine has immortalized.
"It's a trap!"
Aside from that, though, he's almost completely expendable, and one bit of dialogue isn't
enough to justify keeping him around to see the end of Rey's saga.
Maz Kanata
The wizened Maz Kanata is a Yoda-esque figure for the new generation, but we still don't
know much about her or her intentions.
Perhaps the mystery is meant to segue into a spin-off or novelization; but there's also
a chance she may just be meant as a red herring who's ready to join the other Force ghosts.
The First Order already attacked her planet once, so why not do it again and go after
whoever remains?
It's likely they'll want to come after her anyway, if they find out she was the one who
gave Luke's lightsaber to Rey.
And since she's not a fighter—despite being Force-sensitive—once she's in the First
Order's sights her days are probably numbered, cool Yoda vibes or not.
R2-D2
While a robot's life doesn't end the way fleshy species' lives do, think of the emotional
wallop if one of the only two characters to appear in every single Star Wars movie finally
expired.
If it were to happen, our guess is R2-D2 would be the one to go.
"R2D2 has been in low power mode ever since Master Luke went away."
While C-3PO is certainly beloved, there's something about R2-D2 that makes him extra
lovable.
Maybe it's his compact size.
Maybe it's how he doesn't speak English, so he can't talk and snark too much like his
chatty golden buddy.
Whatever it is, people adore R2-D2, and if he gets damaged beyond repair during a dogfight,
Star Wars may actually bring audiences to tears.
Plus, since Kenny Baker, the actor who spent the most time inside the R2 suit, passed away
in August 2016, it only seems right that the character go with him, so it remains his forever.
Luke Skywalker
Obi-Wan became one with The Force, so why not the new Obi-Wan, too?
Jedi Master Luke Skywalker's getting on in years, his friend Han Solo is gone, and his
confidence in his ability to train young Jedi is shot.
There's no real reason to think Luke will survive Last Jedi, aside from the fact that
he's Luke Skywalker and Star Wars would seem weird without him.
But with new fighters like Rey and Finn now around to pick up the slack, Luke can comfortably
join his father and Obi-Wan in the pantheon of Force ghosts.
After all, he does give this grave warning:
"It's time for the Jedi to end."
General Leia
After Carrie Fisher's tragic and untimely passing in December 2016, people started wondering
what would happen to her Star Wars character, General Leia.
It's not as though anyone else can ever step into the role, so surely, Leia will be gone
alongside her actress.
But the character was originally set to survive The Last Jedi, to have a bigger role in Episode
9.
That's obviously no longer the case, but director Rian Johnson has said that they aren't adjusting
what happens to her in this movie based on real-life events.
Despite his words, though, the trailer certainly seems to indicate her fate is questionable
in The Last Jedi all the same.
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