When we last left Rey, Luke, Leia, Kylo and the others …
USA TODAY Network
Here’s a refresher on where the key characters stood at the end of “The Force Awakens”:
• Rey ( Daisy Ridley): The young scavenger from Jakku went on an epic adventure and eventually realized — to even her surprise — that she is very strong in the Force. Gen. Leia Organa sent Rey on a mission to locate her brother Luke Skywalker, and she finds him on top of a remote island. “She’s thinking, ‘ Hopefully this is the guy who can come back and help fix everything,’ ” Ridley says.
• Luke ( Mark Hamill): Once the fresh- faced hero of the Rebel Alliance, Luke Skywalker is a wizened hermit when Rey finds him. Teaching Han Solo and Leia’s young son Ben the ways of the Force was a disaster, and now Luke insists, “It’s time for the Jedi to end.” So, not as fresh- faced anymore. “His friends are suffering and dying trying to fight off this big new evil in the galaxy, and he’s taken himself out of the fight,” says director Rian Johnson.
• Leia ( Carrie Fisher): The leader of the Resistance has led a huge victory over the First Order, yet she’s also dealing with the death of her love Han. Gen. Leia Organa has a history of needing to move on from tragedy quickly, Johnson says. “In [ the original ‘ Star Wars’], when she’s on the base getting ready for the final attack, the commander says to her, basically, ‘ Sorry your planet [ Alderaan] got blown up,’ and she says, ‘ We have no time for our sorrows.’ ”
• Kylo Ren ( Adam Driver): The former Ben Solo killed his father but was left scarred after a brutal lightsaber battle with Rey. The First Order warrior has been ordered to complete his training with Supreme Leader Snoke, but Driver points to Kylo’s line in a “Last Jedi” trailer that’s important for his journey: “Let the past die. Kill it if you have to. That’s the only way to become what you’re meant to be.”
• Finn ( John Boyega): The former Stormtrooper escaped from the First Order, went on a grand adventure with Rey, but was wounded by Kylo Ren. When he wakes up from his coma in “The Last Jedi,” there’s a new approach to war and battle for Finn, Boyega says. “He’s called ‘ the big deal’ in the Resistance and he likes the sound of that — I don’t think he genuinely believes that. But he’s going to prove himself to be one in this movie, for sure.”
• Poe ( Oscar Isaac): The best pilot in the Resistance was an integral part of taking down the First Order’s Starkiller Base, yet Poe Dameron and his colleagues can’t rest after one win. “Poe’s journey in this film is, how does one become more than just a soldier?” Isaac says. “How does one become a leader?”