For those who engage in it, speculating on the significance of obscure clues in the Star Wars universe has gone beyond a hobby and grown into a way of life. Even something as simple as a three-word phrase — one word of which is “the” — can spark months of obsessive investigation. And while George Lucas’ disciples will have to wait until December to finally learn the identity of The Last Jedi’s title figure, that has not stopped the dogged gumshoes of Vanity Fair from pumping key figures for information.

Vanity Fair has just allowed the public a glimpse at their big, beautiful Star Wars issue, and among the handsome pictorials and deep-dive feature pieces is a slighter bit about the lingering mystery surrounding the meaning behind the new film’s title. Vanity Fair managed to corner Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and Episode XIII writer/director Rian Johnson to grill them on the person or people referred to by the phrase ‘The Last Jedi.’ Both figures stuck with standard operating procedure and largely kept mum, but Johnson allowed a bit of a hint. He confirmed that to him, the word Jedi is in its singular form, referring to a specific character as opposed to a legion of Jedi stragglers.

What’s more, Johnson offered up the somewhat more substantive quote, “One would think, let’s say this, that at the end of Episode VII it refers to Luke, because of the notion that this religion has died out and he is the last of them.” The implied latter half of that sentence would be “…but he isn’t!” Fans can direct their attentions elsewhere, it seems — perhaps towards Rey? Keep on speculating until The Last Jedi hits theaters December 15.

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