Disney finally dropped the official title for Star Wars: Episode VIII with a relatively sparse announcement poster, but it's already the source of a lot of speculation. Beyond who the title, "The Last Jedi," is referring to, the color palette in the poster itself is causing people to take note.
The Last Jedi made its debut with a big, bold red "Star Wars" logo, which is a marked difference from the more friendly yellow used in The Force Awakens' announcement. Here's a breakdown of the teaser posters for all the main Star Wars series films:
This isn't the first time that a Star Wars logo has been red. Return of the Jedi was the first Star Wars movie to have a declarative red title treatment, and that was replicated during the promotion of Revenge of the Sith. While there have been different iterations (and color schemes) used for the various editions -- and posters -- of those films, it is notable that The Last Jedi is joining those ranks.
But what could it mean? Assuming that Disney's marketing team didn't choose the red logo haphazardly, it's easy to conclude that there's a reason behind The Last Jedi's crimson splash. Whereas both Return of the Jedi and Revenge of the Sith were the third films in their respective trilogies, Episode VIII stands apart as the second film in this new set of Star Wars films, meaning there must be some other connective tissue. Strap on your tinfoil hats, because it's time to speculate on what the connection between this new title treatment and its red-tinted predecessors might mean. Spoilers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens continue below.
The most obvious similarity between these three films is that they all reference the warriors fighting on both sides of the Force: the Jedi and the Sith. It's a fairly superficial connection, but it could be tying into a deeper theme linking the films.
Looking at more similarities between Return and Revenge, both films feature a character turning from one side of the Force to the other. In Return, it's Darth Vader turning from the darkness back to the light, while in Revenge, it's his descent into embracing the Dark Side.
Could that be a hint at the direction The Last Jedi is heading in? Its title alone suggests the Jedi will be at the forefront of the story, and it's easy to assume it's referring to Luke Skywalker or the Force-powerful Rey (or both, since "Jedi" can be plural). But considering Kylo Ren's fraught relationship with the Light and Dark Side -- and his Jedi training from Luke -- it's easy to assume he will have a big role to play as well. And hey, he is symbolized by the bad guy red color of the Dark Side.
The Force Awakens already set up Kylo's conflicted feelings about the Jedi as he finds himself pulled between the two sides of the Force. The movie revealed that Luke had been training young Force-sensitive people to eventually become a new generation of Jedi, including Ben Solo. But after Supreme Leader Snoke seduced Ben to the Dark Side, we learn the son of Han and Leia destroyed the Jedi Luke had been training, leaving only his uncle alive. But Ben -- now Kylo Ren -- still isn't a full-fledged Sith, much to his chagrin, meaning he still could be won back over to the Light.
Though Kylo ended The Force Awakens by doing everything within his power to go over to the Dark Side fully, it's easy to assume his journey toward being a Sith won't be so easy. In fact, Adam Driver already hinted that we'll see a more sympathetic side to the wannabe villain. On Larry King Now, Driver said the aspect of Kylo Ren he's most excited to show fans is the character's "humanity," which does seem to suggest the man formerly known as Ben Solo won't remain all bad.
And let's not forget Kylo Ren's general obsession with Darth Vader. He's desperate to follow in his grandfather's footsteps, so why not represent him also flip-flopping allegiances in the logo of this movie? Ben Solo seems largely ignorant about the fraught path Darth Vader walked with the Dark Side, and likely isn't aware Anakin re-embraced the Light shortly before his death. How fitting, then, that he might be retracing his ancestor's steps, though in a way that he likely didn't anticipate.
That's our best, tin-foily theory on why Star Wars: The Last Jedi got slapped with a red logo. Let us know why you think Disney opted for this color scheme in the comments below!
Terri Schwartz is Entertainment Editor at IGN and spends maybe too much of her time thinking about Star Wars. Talk to her on Twitter at @Terri_Schwartz.
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