Earlier this week, Entertainment Weekly revealed a
fresh batch of magazine covers featuring the main characters in
Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The characters were split into duos on each cover, presumably with the one they're either most linked to or will spend some time with on screen. One of those covers featured Luke and Leia with the headline "Will Luke and Leia Reunite?"
It's a question many of us have, but one director Rian Johnson doesn't seem keen on answering.
The Last Jedi writer/director admitted that it was "nice" seeing the Skywalker twins on the same cover together, but refused to confirm whether or not they'll actually share screen time together in the film.
“It’s nice seeing them on the cover though. Even if all we have is that,” Johnson teased.
It's unclear if the filmmaker was being coy or simply softening fan expectations. Both are conceivable as the writer/director likely wants to avoid spoilers ahead of the film's release. Of course, he could also want to spare
Star Wars fans some frustration, especially following the last film. Many fans were disappointed when we didn't get one final on-screen reunion with Luke, Leia and Han in
The Force Awakens before the legendary smuggler was eventually killed by his son Ben (aka Kylo Ren). While we did get a touching moment between Han and Leia (before it was interrupted by C-3PO), it would've been nice to see all three iconic characters on screen together for one last time.
Looking towards
The Last Jedi and what we've seen in the trailers, it appears Luke has fallen into a dark place, his faith in the Jedi and those he loved shattered. Mark Hamill teased as much in the same interview.
“Luke longs to have that extended family that he established in the original trilogy, but now he’s at a place in his life and in his history where he’s shunned all of that," the actor said.
“The big question is why didn’t he respond to Leia during [The Force Awakens]? There’s a lot of things you can’t answer until you see this movie.”
We'll learn soon enough what pushed Luke away, but it would seem that Leia - the last connection Luke has to his old life - is pivotal to his redemption. That is reason enough to believe we'll see them on screen together at some point in the film. Either way, we're only about a month away from finding out for ourselves when
Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits theaters December 15.