Controversial Choices in Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Welcome to "Rank the Most Controversial," where today we’re going to detonate one of the hottest debates in modern sci-fi fandom: the top five most controversial character choices in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Whether you loved it, hated it, or just can’t stop arguing about it online, this film’s character decisions split the community like a lightsaber through a blast door. Everybody’s got a take, and I guarantee this ranking will get you typing.

Number five: The Introduction of Rose Tico as Finn’s New Partner.

In The Last Jedi, writer-director Rian Johnson introduced Rose Tico, played by Kelly Marie Tran, as a major character who teams up with Finn for an unauthorized mission to disable the First Order’s hyperspace tracker. Johnson originally planned for Finn to go on this mission with Poe Dameron, but decided the dynamic needed a shakeup and created Rose—someone who could challenge and contrast Finn, not just echo his lines. The result: Rose, a Resistance maintenance worker and audience surrogate, becomes Finn’s companion on the Canto Bight subplot.

Why did this choice spark debate? Some fans embraced Rose as a fresh, relatable perspective—her background as a self-taught mechanic and her personal hatred of the First Order rooted in the devastation of her home planet, Hays Minor, added new depth. But others criticized her sudden prominence and questioned the narrative focus on her and Finn’s side mission, with claims it detracted from the main plot. Kelly Marie Tran’s casting—her first film role, following a grueling five-month audition—also became a flashpoint, sparking both praise for representation and an ugly wave of online harassment. The decision to sideline Poe for this story, and make Rose the emotional driver for Finn’s growth, is still argued in forums and podcasts everywhere.

Number four: Leia’s Use of the Force to Survive in Space.

In The Last Jedi, Princess Leia, played by Carrie Fisher, is blown out of her ship’s bridge and expelled into space during an attack by the First Order. In a moment never before depicted on screen, Leia regains consciousness, uses the Force, and pulls herself back to safety through the vacuum of space. This sequence marked the most direct use of the Force by Leia in the main films up to that point.

Why the uproar? Some fans celebrated the move as finally depicting Leia’s latent Force abilities, a nod to her heritage as the daughter of Anakin Skywalker. For others, the scene felt jarring or implausible within established Star Wars logic, with criticism centering on the visual effects and the perceived abruptness of Leia’s powers. The debate flared because Leia had previously chosen not to become a Jedi in canon, and this superhero-like survival moment clashed with expectations some viewers held for her character.

Number three: Finn’s Attempted Sacrifice and Rose’s Intervention.

Near the climax on Crait, Finn makes a desperate run to sacrifice himself by flying directly into the First Order’s super-laser siege cannon, intending to save the Resistance by destroying the weapon. At the last moment, Rose crashes her speeder into Finn’s, saving him but seriously injuring herself. She then tells Finn, “That’s how we’re going to win. Not fighting what we hate, but saving what we love,” before kissing him.

Why is this so controversial? For some, this single action upends the arc Finn had been building—a former stormtrooper ready to lay down his life for a cause. Supporters see Rose’s intervention as a powerful rejection of self-destructive heroics in favor of hope and survival. Critics argue it robbed Finn of agency and could have doomed the Resistance by allowing the cannon to fire. Rose’s reasoning and the decision to save Finn instead of destroy the cannon still triggers fiery threads and memes.

Number two: The Betrayal by the Unnamed Slicer.

During their mission to Snoke’s flagship, Rose and Finn fail to locate the master codebreaker and instead recruit an unnamed slicer, played by Benicio Del Toro. After helping them infiltrate the Supremacy, the slicer betrays them to the First Order, providing information about the Resistance in exchange for his own freedom and a monetary reward. This twist leaves Rose and Finn captured by General Hux and Captain Phasma, upending their plan.

Here’s why this choice divides fans: The betrayal is seen by many as a realistic, double-crossing twist—introducing moral ambiguity and showing how not everyone in the galaxy fits into clear good-versus-evil camps. Others argue it rendered the entire Canto Bight subplot pointless, as the mission ultimately fails and the Resistance’s survival is jeopardized by the slicer’s treachery. The character himself, unnamed and morally ambivalent, became a symbol of subverted expectations in The Last Jedi, and a lightning rod for debate about narrative payoff versus thematic complexity.

Finally, number one: Luke Skywalker’s Character Arc and Final Stand.

The single most controversial character choice in The Last Jedi is the depiction of Luke Skywalker, who isolates himself on Ahch-To and initially refuses to help the Resistance or train Rey. The film reveals that Luke went into exile after a moment of weakness, when he briefly considered killing his nephew Ben Solo due to his fear that Ben would become dangerous. Luke spends much of the movie resisting calls to return, ultimately projecting himself via the Force across the galaxy to confront Kylo Ren and allow the Resistance to escape, before dying from the effort.

Why is this the most fiercely debated choice? For some fans, this arc was a bold, humanizing take on a legendary hero—presenting Luke as flawed, regretful, and burdened by failure. Others saw it as a betrayal of the idealistic Luke from the original trilogy, arguing the character would never abandon his friends or contemplate killing a family member, even for a moment. The film’s exploration of guilt, heroism, and legacy through Luke’s lens has been dissected in hundreds of essays, videos, and fan forums, with no clear consensus. Mark Hamill won the Saturn Award for Best Actor for his role in The Last Jedi, and the arc’s divisiveness even prompted Hamill to publicly discuss his initial disagreements with the direction, though he later supported the film.