Major spoilers for The Last Jedi

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While many things about Star Wars: The Last Jedi are likely to trigger debate amongst fans, the addition of some controversial new Force powers is sure to be at the top of the list. The original trilogy gave us a standard set of skills possessed by Force users, including telekinesis, increased agility, enhanced senses, the power to influence minds, and, for some, the generation of intense electrical currents.

Since then, the full range of abilities that Jedi, Sith, and those in between have access to has been expanded upon greatly. Both canon material - books, comics, and TV shows - and the Legends media (formerly the Expanded Universe) have added all sorts of new powers to those who wield the Force, but very little of it has been seen on the big screen.

Related: Star Wars: The Last Jedi's Ending Explained

The new, Disney saga has expanded the Force. Previously the most radical new takes on the Force came when Kylo Ren stopped a blaster bolt in midair during The Force Awakens. However, that was really just an extreme mastery of telekinesis - something Kylo proves he had at a young age during the flashbacks in Episode VIII. The latest entry in the Saga goes much, much further, giving characters like Rey, Kylo, Luke, and Leia skills we've never seen on film. These new abilities could leave many fans to believe that Rian Jonhson is upending Star Wars canon, but each new power seen in The Last Jedi has plenty of precedent in the galaxy far, far away.

Leia Flying In Space (This Page)

Leia's Force Powers

Kylo and Hux's surprise assault on the Resistance escape convoy is full of plenty of shocking twists and turns. None, however, top the alarming scene that almost ends Leia's life - and dispenses with Admiral Ackbar unceremoniously. But just as the audience is catching their breath from the dramatic scene, Leia gathers her remaining strength and uses the Force to pull herself back into the ship and out of the frozen void of space. It's a startlingly moment for a character who has previously only been shown to be sensitive to the Force in more intuitive and emotional ways. Her use of what looks like telekinesis, however, makes good on the original vision for Leia.

George Lucas originally wanted Leia to use the Force whenever Episodes VII-IX came about, and there's certainly evidence of it in the films and beyond. The Empire Strikes Back heavily suggests Leia is meant to become a Jedi, with Obi-Wan saying Luke is their only hope and Yoda replying "No...there is another." It's safe to assume Yoda is referring to the other child of Anakin Skywalker and that Leia has the potential to do everything Luke can given some training.

The Last Jedi doesn't fill in much of the backstory between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, but it's not a stretch to assume Luke taught Leia a thing or two in the intervening decades (she used the Force in Life Debt). If nothing else, Leia's near-death experience could have simple activated her latent abilities. As surprising as the moment was, Leia was destined to wield the Force and it was exhilarating to finally see her do so.

Luke Skywalker The Last Jedi

Luke's Force Projection

One of the most impressive feats of the Force that we see in The Last Jedi is Luke's prolonged astral projection employed for the climax of the film. While many fans might assume Luke isn't physically there when he first arrives on the Crait base, that's quickly wiped away when he hands Leia the gold dice from the Millennium Falcon and by the fact that C-3PO can see the Jedi Master as well. As Luke's final stand progresses, only his walking away from a barrage of cannon fire unscathed hints that he may not truly be there. Regardless, the reveal is a shocking one, both to Kylo and the audience.

Related: Star Wars 8: Luke Skywalker's REAL Backstory Explained

Not only has Luke projected himself across an unfathomable distance, but he's visible to droids and unable to be detected by the powerful Ren. What's more, but his faux dice are able to be left on the floor for Kylo, implying there was an almost physical palpability to them. While all of this may seem like a stretch, even for the legendary Luke Skywalker, there are multiple Force powers in the Legends canon that allow someone to pull off a feat like this.

The main ability is Dopplegänger, or Similfuturus, which lets a Force user create an exact double of themselves that they can control. The replica is even able to communicate audibly and be seen by droids. Furthermore, both Force projections and Force illusions are aspects of the mind trick that can allow someone to do exactly what Luke did. More than just a facsimile of the Force user, these abilities allow for manipulation of the minds of those viewing the duplicate. Clearly, Johnson is familiar with the myriad abilities of the Force and found a way to work some of the concepts into Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Rey and Kylo's Connection

When it comes to the Legends canon, the list of Force abilities is long. Users of the power can control air and fire, withstand pain, channel energy into weapons, see in the dark, and even transfer their spirit into a new body. Within the realms of manipulating the mind and the physical world, there's little that can't be accomplished. Like Luke's projection, Rey and Kylo Ren's connection throughout The Last Jedi blends a variety of abilities together.

Sensing each other's feelings is nothing new, but the clear communication between the two and ability to see each other (though not necessarily each other's surroundings) is something we haven't seen in the films. It also appears that a transference of matter is able to occur, as the splash of the sea covers Kylo's glove in water. And at one point, Luke can see Kylo, implying a sort of Force projection is being utilized.

Related: So, What's Episode IX Going To Be About?

The films tend to keep the Force more mysterious, rarely labeling or explaining its abilities. The ancillary media, however, can go into these sorts of nuances and show us examples of a number of things similar to what Rey and Kylo can do. Precognition, farsight (seeing things across far distances), Force projections, and telepathy are all potentially on display in the interactions between the two characters, and the connection is only made stronger thanks to Snoke.

Snoke

Snoke's Many Abilities

Snoke isn't a Sith, but he certainly possesses many of their abilities. The Star Wars films have mostly stuck to the ideological confines of the Force, making characters either Jedi or Sith. But we've seen glimpses beyond these rigid structures in characters like Leia and Chirrut ÃŽmwe from Rogue One. The shows, books, and novels from both canon and Legends, meanwhile, feature all sorts of beings who can manipulate the Force without subscribing to a particular religion. Snoke appears to be one such individual, exploring the dark side of the Force in his own way. He exhibits Force lightning, some powerful telekinesis, and he may also be using a variation on another technique: Force meld.

Related: What Does The Last Jedi Reveal About Snoke's Backstory?

A form of battle meditation, the Force meld lets users share a consciousness and increase their power. This may not strictly be what Snoke employs, but it's clear he somehow utilizes his powers to heighten the connection between Rey and Kylo and allow them to effortlessly take advantage of a number of Force powers they previously haven't used (at least in Rey's case). Snoke also seems to share the precognitive abilities Rey and Kylo use, though he proves how future events can be misinterpreted or altered. It's even possible that the glimpses of each other's future that Rey and Kylo see are merely supplied by Snoke, thus furthering the idea of the three sharing some sort of meld.

Yoda's Force Ghost

It wouldn't be a new Star Wars film without a surprise cameo from an original trilogy character, and that comes in the form of Yoda in The Last Jedi. With Episode VIII closely mirroring The Empire Strikes Back, it's fitting that Luke in his isolation has a meeting with the Force ghost of a friend. Instead of Yoda speaking with Obi-Wan on Dagoba, however, Luke and Yoda converse on Ahch-To.

The moment is an exciting one - this is classic deranged, hermit Yoda - but it's even more startling when the fallen Jedi Master calls down lightning from the heavens to burn the Temple (though we later learn the Jedi Texts are safe from harm). We've seen Force ghosts communicate before, but such intense power is something new. But by demonstrating the skill, Yoda proves something that Obi-Wan never did: some Jedi can become more powerful in death.

Aside from Lucas clearly meaning for Force ghosts to have powers on this level, there's precedent in the Expanded Universe for this kind of act. Some Force ghosts, generally Sith, have been able to physically interact with physical objects. But many others can retain their Force abilities. It's not the case across the board, but it makes sense that a Force ghost would still be in tune with the construct itself and thus be able to manipulate it in the same way the user did in life. And, if anyone is going to demonstrate Force lightning on such a magnitude, it's Yoda.

Related: The Last Jedi Explains What Rey's Force Vision Was Really About

From its post-modern dissection of the Star Wars mythology to the near-slapstick humor, Johnson's The Last Jedi will likely be the subject of unending debate for fans. And while the uptick in impressive new Force abilities may generate the same sense of conflict amongst audiences, it's clear that his script pulls from firmly established events. From canon material to Lucas' original intentions to the decades of lore in the Expanded Universe, the Force is an source of powerful and varied abilities. While some of these techniques may be new to moviegoers and even fans, Star Wars: The Last Jedi expands the scope of the Force in ways that honor the source material.

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