Star Wars: The Last Jedi ending explained and what it means for Episode 9 [spoilers]

After what felt like an eternity of waiting, Star Wars: The Last Jedi has finally reached cinemas around the world, setting up the final part of the sequel trilogy.

**Spoilers for The Last Jedi ahead. You've been warned**

Perhaps the most surprising part of Rian Johnson’s blockbuster is the ending, Episode VIII concluding with a scene unlike any other Star Wars instalment.

After Luke Skywalker and Rey save the day — allowing Finn, Poe, and Leia to safely escape on the Millennium Falcon — there’s a scene featuring a young orphan child seen before in the film.

After reenacting a battle with Luke Skywalker versus the First Order, the child gets shooed away, grabbing a broom and looking out into the stars while twiddling a resistance ring. However, there was something very special about how the child grabbed the broom; using the Force.

Who is the child? Well, he’s probably like Rey; a nobody, with a struggling background, who can naturally use the Force. A recap: Rey’s parents were revealed by Kylo Ren to be nobodies who exchanged the young girl for money.

With that in mind, it seems Johnson wants to remind everyone that you don’t have to be a Skywalker, Kenobi, or backward-speaking green creature to be special. Anybody can be, no matter your family.

What does that mean for Episode IX? Well, seeing as Luke told Kylo he was not the last Jedi after all, the implication would be Rey — who stole the Jedi books, as shown in a brief scene on the Falcon — will start a new order with Force wielders from all background.

And while the kid probably won’t have a pivotal role come JJ Abrams’ concluding chapter, the scene hammers home that the Force flows through everyone in that Galaxy far, far away. With the resistance on the brink of being wiped out, both Luke (and presumably Leia) gone, Rey and the gang are going to need all the help they can get. Hopefully, they'll grow powerful enough to defeat Ren's villainous army.