Rian Johnson’sThe Last Jediintroduced some elements of the Force thatStar Warsfans had never seen before, leaving questions as to what will be possible in the upcomingStar Wars 9. Leia Organa was shown using the Force to fly through space after an attack by the First Order, which is commonly referred to as the “Leia Poppins” scene. That element, along with Luke Skywalker’s astral projection, were the two major aspects that fans argued about, leaving Rian Johnson to explain nearly every decision that he made. However, one particular aspect of the Force that was introduced inThe Last Jediwas largely ignored by the masses, which is Yoda’s Force Ghost ability to use the physical power of lightning. Could Luke have that same power inStar Wars 9?
Force Ghost Yodawas able to destroy the Jedi library on Ahch-To, which confused manyStar Warsfans. InThe Empire Strikes Back, Force Ghost Obi-Wan tells Luke that he cannot interfere when he faces Darth Vader. Depending on how you look at it, Obi-Wan may be saying that he physically can’t help, or that he won’t because it’s Luke’s journey. Either way, it makes Yoda’s new powers very intriguing forStar Wars 9. There’s going to be a time jump betweenThe Last JediandStar Wars 9, which means that Force Ghost Luke will have had some time to study being a Force Ghost, much like Qui-Gon Jinn was able to do, going from just a voice to a ghost.
If this is the case, wouldn’t Force Ghost Luke be able to make Kylo Ren’s life a living hell? He could just use that lightning to protect the Resistance forever, without any real repercussions. When asked aboutYoda’s new powersinThe Last Jediback in January, Rian Johnson had an interesting answer that could point to a plot point inStar Wars 9. He explains.
“The one point where we do introduce a bit of a twist in terms of Force ghosts is where Yoda calls down the lightning onto the tree. That, I think, is a tantalizing hint of the potential of someone who is a Force ghost interacting with the real world.”
It certainly seems that Force Ghosts will have more power than ever before if J.J. Abrams chooses to go down that road.Force Ghost Lukecould play a big part of the story inStar Wars 9.
So, some may be wondering why all Jedi don’t just kill themselves to become ultimate Force Ghosts. That’s not the way it works in theStar Warsuniverse. For starters, you have to believe in the Light side of the Force and you have to be selfless and in a peaceful place, which doesn’t really fit the bill for suicide. Since one has to be a believer in the Light side of the Force, there cannot be any Dark side Force Ghosts, though Rian Johnson briefly considered it while writingThe Last Jedi. For now, Kylo Ren cannot become a Dark Force Ghost unless there’s some rule bending.
Rian Johnson may have opened up a big can of worms for J.J. Abrams, but that could also mean that we get to see more of Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker inStar Wars 9, using lightning powers to battle the First Order and guide Rey through further training. We could even potentially see the return of Yoda, Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan, and Anakin Skywalker training Luke to be a powerful Force Ghost, which would be pretty cool. This is obviously just speculation at this point, but the physical powers of the Force Ghost will almost certainly need to be addressed inStar Wars 9. You can read more about the upcomingStar Wars 9over atStarWars.
