Spoilers ahead for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. At the end of every "middle" Star Wars movie, there's been a tiny hint of what was to come. The Empire Strikes Back closed with the gang heading off to save Han Solo. Attack of the Clones ended with the creation of Stormtroopers and the impending Clone Wars. And now, The Last Jedi, the middle film in the new trilogy, ends with yet another hint at what we can expect in the next film. At the end of The Last Jedi's main story line, the rebels, including General Leia Organa, pilot Poe Dameron, budding Jedi Rey, as well as Finn and our favorite droids, have evaded the First Order once again. But their escape and reunion isn't the final scene of the movie — it's the scene with the boy at the end of The Last Jedi that gives the movie its closure.
The closing moments of this newest Star Wars movie look ahead at not only the next film, but potentially to the future of the Jedi, and the entire franchise as we know it. In the middle of the The Last Jedi, there's an extended sequence featuring Finn (John Boyega) and newcomer Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) trying to find a code breaker so that they can break onto the First Order's largest ship. They head to a wealthy planet where stylish inhabitants gamble and drink inside an elaborate casino that would rival any of the ones in Monte Carlo. But while Finn finds the affluence and glitz of the planet super appealing, Rose points out to him the dark underbelly of how the wealthy survive: on the backs of child slaves and indentured servants, through weapons deals and animal abuse.
Rose, it seems, was once a kind of slave herself, subservient to owners who beat her and her sister. But that was before they both found the Rebel Alliance. To make their escape from the casino planet, Rose and Finn befriend a young slave boy who cares for the large alien animals that the rich bet on in grand races. Part horse, part fox, part greyhound dog, the creatures are cared for by young kids who are beaten and degraded by their slave masters. To earn the young boy's trust, Rose reveals to him a secret code hidden inside a ring she wears: The seal of the rebel alliance.
After the movie's final action scenes, lightsaber fights, and star-side battles, the story heads back to that wealthy planet once more and pops in on that same boy. He stands before a group of other slave kids, telling the story of Luke Skywalker, the Jedi, and the rebellion to his young friends in an unknown language. He opens up the secret ring that Rose gave him, and has an adorable homemade action figure of Luke Skywalker as his storytelling props. The kids are eventually interrupted by their slave master, and forced back to work. But as the boy heads out to sweep the floors, a tiny glimmer of hope is revealed. The boy reaches for his broom, except the broom flies the few inches into his hand without him having to touch it. The Force is strong with this one! As he sweeps, he gazes into the sky, seeing at a shooting star as the closing credits hit.
Essentially, the small boy at the end of The Last Jedi isn't anyone in particular, but his presence, and his hint of power, is incredibly important. It suggests that Luke Skywalker isn't "the last Jedi" after all, nor is Rey. The Jedi religion will continue, as will the rebellion, and that the Force continues to surge itself through particular people throughout the galaxy. Which really means that we have a lot more Jedi and Star Wars to look forward to.
