Has it been a while since you watched The Force Awakens? Need a reminder of where we last left our favorite characters? Hypable has got you covered.
There’s just about a week left before the Star Wars saga returns to our screens. The Last Jedi premieres on December 15 and we’ll be posting several articles to prepare you in the lead-up to the film.
From character guides, to what you need to know from the tie-in novels, we’ll make sure you’ve got the knowledge of a Star Wars superfan before you walk into the theater.
And what better place to start than reminding you of where we last left the characters in The Force Awakens. With The Last Jedi picking up immediately after the credits of the previous film, and time running out to rewatch Force Awakens, this will serve as a quick reference guide for where in the universe everyone is.
The characters included in this refresher are the ones that played a major part over the course of The Force Awakes, or are guaranteed an appearance in The Last Jedi. Supporting characters, like Maz Kanata and Unkar Plutt, do not appear.
Finn
We left Finn in a dire situation as The Force Awakens came to a close. He suffered a devastating blow to his back during a one-on-one battle with Kylo Ren. Though Rey and Chewbacca managed to carry him off the imploding Starkiller Base, he was still comatose by the time the credits rolled.
When we return, you should expect Finn to still be in some kind of healing pod at the Resistance Base — though they may have relocated from D’Qar due to their base’s location being revealed to the First Order.
BB-8
After several detours, BB-8 finally made it back to the Resistance with a piece of the map to Luke Skywalker, fulfilling his mission from the start of the movie. That return also saw him reunited with Poe, who was presumed dead after crash landing during his escape back to Jakuu.
BB-8 joined Poe for his assault on Starkiller Base and, upon their return to D’Qar, paired his map piece with a recently awoken R2-D2’s more complete map, revealing Luke’s location. BB-8 stayed with Poe on D’Qar, as Rey, Chewbacca and R2 departed for Ahch-To.
Poe Dameron
Poe, after surviving a crash that would have felled near anyone else, returned to the Resistance base at D’Qar to fight for its cause. He was the leader on the missions to both Takodana and Starkiller Base, and shot the blow to the latter that resulted in its implosion.
He led his squadron back to D’Qar after the mission’s success, which is where we’ll likely find him when The Last Jedi picks up. There’s still a lot of work to do to take down The First Order, after all.
Captain Phasma
When Finn, Han Solo, and Chewbacca arrived at Starkiller Base to lower the shields — and rescue Rey — they were confronted by Phasma almost immediately. Phasma was bested and, in a nod to A New Hope, thrown in the trash compactor.
She was, per the trailers, rescued from a fatal end and lived to fight another day. Phasma will be coming up against Finn once again in The Last Jedi, but it remains to be seen how that clash will pan out this time.
Kylo Ren
After murdering his father, Han Solo, in order to untether himself from the light side, Kylo Ren tracked down Rey and Finn — who had escaped into the snow-covered forest. He bested Finn in a duel, but didn’t fare so well against Rey. She incapacitated him, before evacuating the planet.
Under orders from Snoke, General Hux retrieved Kylo Ren and took him to finish his training with the Supreme Leader. Well… after he heals up a little, first, of course.
Rey
As mentioned above, Rey overpowered Kylo Ren in a lightsaber duel as Starkiller Base imploded around them. She escaped the planet, and returned to D’Qar, only to be given the mission to head to Ahch-To and implore Luke to join the fight.
Alongside Chewbacca and R2-D2, Rey took Luke’s lightsaber, and was last seen atop the cliffs of Ahch-To, holding the hilt outstretched for Luke to take.
General Hux
Much like Tarkin before him, Hux believed in the power of Starkiller Base, but not to the extent that he would go down with the “ship,” so to speak. After reporting the imminent demise of their sun-powered superweapon to Snoke, he was tasked with collecting Kylo Ren and taking him to an undisclosed location to finish his training.
Han Solo
Er, have we had enough time to digest this one yet? No? Yeah, didn’t think so.
Han Solo was, unfortunately, a casualty of The Force Awakens. During the mission to lower Starkiller Base’s shields, he confronted his son, hoping to sway him back to the light and take him home.
That wasn’t to be, and Kylo Ren struck him down. He fell into the depths of Starkiller Base, and was certainly obliterated along with the planet. Though we don’t doubt, even for one second, that his death will be keenly felt throughout The Last Jedi.
Chewbacca
Though Chewbacca allowed himself a moment a grief, shooting Kylo Ren after watching him murder his long-time best friend and partner, he still completed the mission he’d been given. He exploded the charges that he and Han had set together, lowering the shields for Poe’s X-Wing squadron to deliver the final blow.
Chewbacca traveled aboard the Millennium Falcon, this time as its pilot, with Rey and R2-D2. We’ll likely see him next, covered in Porgs, on Ahch-To, and doing his best to deal with Han’s death.
Supreme Leader Snoke
Supreme Leader Snoke remained an almost omnipresent threat throughout The Force Awakens, but never once appeared in-person himself — just through a hologram in audience with Kylo Ren and Hux.
He was last seen tasking Hux with returning Kylo Ren to his side, in order to complete Kylo’s training.
Leia Organa
Our General. The echo of Han’s death through the force reached Leia on D’Qar, though she remained strong in the face of it, in order to see the mission through to the end.
When Rey returned, and the two women met for the first time, they embraced and comforted each other. The grieving couldn’t, and didn’t, last for long. She sent Rey to Ahch-To, with Chewbacca and R2-D2, to train with her brother and convince him to return and fight at the Resistance’s side.
C-3PO
We almost didn’t recognize C-3PO when he appeared with a red arm on Takodana. Our time with 3PO was limited to mostly a handful of awkward moments, and an expositional scene where he informed BB-8 (and the audience) that R2 had been in low-power mode since Luke had disappeared.
He was briefly reunited with R2, his near constant companion throughout the Star Wars saga, before R2 left for Ahch-To. When The Force Awakens ended, C-3PO had replaced his red arm with one that was gold-plated.
R2-D2
Inactive and in low-power mode through almost the entirety of The Force Awakens, R2-D2 came to life when Rey stepped foot on D’Qar. Together with BB-8, they combined their maps, charting out the directions (and location) of Luke Skywalker.
R2 accompanied Rey, and Chewbacca, to Ahch-To, where he’ll be reunited with Luke. Just as soon as he conquers those many, many steps…
Luke Skywalker
Luke may not have appeared — barring one brief Force vision — until the end of The Force Awakens, but his presence was heavily felt in every moment. The aim, after all, was to piece together the map to find out where he had gone, and implore him to return to the fight against the First Order.
Rey found him at the top of a cliff on Ahch-To. He lowered his hood, taking in the first human he’d likely seen in a long time, as well as his lightsaber. He has yet to utter his first words of this trilogy, but it is only a matter of time.