Disney Star Wars managed to give Luke Skywalker his perfect Jedi legacy in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, despite the divisive reaction to the sequel trilogy. Disney's tenure of Star Wars on film began in 2015 with Star Wars: The Force Awakens in which Luke Skywalker's disappearance was the catalyst of the plot. At the film's end, Skywalker was found by Daisy Ridley's Rey, setting up a much more significant role for the hero of the original trilogy in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
This was certainly the case as The Last Jedi centered around Luke's training of Rey. However, Rian Johnson's writing for The Last Jedi subverted expectations, with Luke's training of Rey centering on why the Jedi need to end due to their history of failure. This naturally caused division amongst the Star Wars fandom, with many not believing that Luke Skywalker would turn his back on the Jedi Order. Although, this was intentional from Johnson, as Luke's arc in the film revolved around Rey changing his mind and Luke coming to terms with his past to see the Jedi's future as one full of hope.
In this ideal of hope, Disney Star Wars gave Luke Skywalker his perfect Jedi ending and solidified his legacy in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Many criticisms of The Last Jedi, and more specifically Luke's story within the film, tend to omit the final act in which Luke's arc comes full circle. While the idea that Luke's beliefs at the beginning of Episode VIII are out of character from what was seen in the original trilogy isn't totally without merit, this stance needed to be taken with Luke to not only make him a more interesting character but ensure his ending worked perfectly for one of Star Wars' most famous characters. The last scene in the film shows a group of young slave children playing with a Luke Skywalker action figure, describing him as a Jedi master. The emotional core of the film revolves around Luke Skywalker realizing that, despite his mistakes and failures of the past, his Jedi legacy is about inspiring hope across the galaxy. This final scene works twofold, both proving that Luke Skywalker and the Jedi are the ultimate figures of hope in the galaxy while also proving that children in Star Wars canon see Luke Skywalker in the same light as fans who grew up with the character.
The Last Jedi Perfectly Completed Luke Skywalker's Jedi Story
While the ending scene of The Last Jedi solidifies Luke's legacy of hope, light, and peace in the galaxy, it is his actions that inspired this that make him arguably the perfect representation of the Jedi. One of Yoda's most iconic lines from The Empire Strikes Back is "A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack." This line is exemplified by Luke during his stand against the First Order and Kylo Ren at the Battle of Crait.
Rather than opt for a fan-service scene in which Luke Skywalker uses the Force and his lightsaber to completely obliterate the First Order's army, Johnson chose to have Luke Force project himself to Crait in order to buy time for the remainder of the Resistance to escape and fight another day. Luke, therefore, inspires hope in the Resistance, and the rest of the galaxy as evident by the final scene, all without having to fight on the offensive, perfectly epitomizing his old master's teachings. All of this is why Luke Skywalker's Jedi story and legacy are perfectly captured by Disney Star Wars in Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi.