The Heartbreaking Star Wars Connection The Last Jedi Makes To A New Hope

History has a way of repeating itself, sometimes directly and sometimes in subtler ways. This can be true in fictional universes too, particularly with the Star Wars franchise. From a lot of folks saying "I've got a bad feeling about this" to two different dictatorships building their own planet-destroying machines, there have been many instances of repeated tropes, symbols, etc, within a galaxy far, far away. Now that Star Wars: The Last Jedi is available on home video, it's easier to spot more of these similarities, and one fan recently noticed when re-watching the movie was that Luke Skywalker's heroic journey ended the same way it began all the way back in A New Hope: with a projection.

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When we met Luke Skywalker in A New Hope, he was a simple farm boy who wanted a life of adventure and excitement, and his wish was finally granted when he came to own C-3PO and R2-D2 and accidentally discovered the message from Princess Leia Organa asking Obi-Wan Kenobi for help hidden within the latter droid. If Luke hadn't stumbled upon it, he might have remained a moisture farmer on Tatooine for the rest of his life. Fast-forward a little over three decades to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, even though Luke was stranded on Ahch-To, he was able help his sister one last time by Force projecting himself all the way to Ahch-To and distracting the First Order forces led by Kylo Ren so that the Resistance survivors could escape aboard the Millennium Falcon. So Luke's journey from farmer to galactic legend came full circle, from a certain point of view.

This "projection" observation from JM McNab has since made its way around the web in the last few days, and it eventually reached Mark Hamill's eyes, leading him to share the connection with his followers on Twitter.

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While Luke Skywalker sacrificed his life in Star Wars: The Last Jedi to keep the Resistance going, this may not be the last time we see him on the big screen. He is a Jedi after all, and like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda before him, it's possible he may reappear as a Force ghost in Episode IX. However, Mark Hamill did recently state that Carrie Fisher's passing has tarnished his ability to enjoy the Star Wars franchise to the fullest, so there's no guarantee that Hamill will don the Jedi robes one more time. In any case, as far as Luke's life is concerned, he left behind an impressive legacy, and it's quite fitting that his final act of heroism was similar to how he set out on that path all those years ago.

You can watch Star Wars: The Last Jedi in the comfort of your own home on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD. The current Star Wars trilogy will conclude when Episode IX is released on December 20, 2019. Keep checking in with CinemaBlend for more updates about the entire Star Wars franchise, and look through our 2018 premiere guide to learn what movies are coming out this year.

Adam Holmes
Senior Content Producer

Connoisseur of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, John Wick, MonsterVerse and Doctor Who lore, Adam is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He started working for the site back in late 2014 writing exclusively comic book movie and TV-related articles, and along with branching out into other genres, he also made the jump to editing. Along with his writing and editing duties, as well as interviewing creative talent from time to time, he also oversees the assignment of movie-related features. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, and he’s been sourced numerous times on Wikipedia. He's aware he looks like Harry Potter and Clark Kent.