The Last Jedi: Is Poe Dameron going to become the new leader of the Resistance?
By Buckie Wells
Because Carrie Fisher’s General Leia won’t appear in Episode IX, it looks like Star Wars The Last Jedi is preparing her to pass the torch to Poe Dameron.
No offense to all the Poe Dameron fans out there, but the only thing that makes him interesting so far is that he’s played by Oscar Isaac. Of the three new heroes introduced in The Force Awakens, he had the least amount of screentime and only seemed cool when piloting that dope orange and black X-Wing. While he may be “one hell of a pilot,” good pilots are a dime a dozen in Star Wars.
Even yesterday’s big photo dump played down his role or barely mentioned anything about him. Though, by association, whenever we see Finn wearing his jacket, we do immediately think of Poe. But it still makes us wonder what the point of his character is but for a handful of jokes and lip bites. If he’s not Finn’s boyfriend, then what’s he doing there? Is his story as important as Finn or Rey’s? Is he more than just eye candy?
Well, according to today’s new information from Entertainment Weekly, it seems like Poe may just be the emotional crux of the entire film. Instead of just being a pilot, The Last Jedi will prepare him to become a leader of the Resistance. Of course, this come as perfect timing considering that Carrie Fisher won’t be in Episode IX, a film previously described as “her” film.
As Oscar Isaac explained:
"“Poe’s arc is one of evolving from a heroic soldier to a seasoned leader, to see beyond the single-mindedness of winning the battle to the larger picture of the future of the galaxy. I think Leia knows she won’t be around forever and she, with tough love, wants to push Poe to be more than the badass pilot, to temper his heroic impulses with wisdom and clarity.”"
Obviously, no one could’ve prepared for Fisher’s tragic death last December. However, Rian Johnson and Co. at Lucasfilm will earn my utmost respect if they can find a satisfying way to bring her story to a close while orchestrating a proper passing of the torch. If Poe spends a bunch of time trading jokes and wisdom and soft eyes with Leia, that will pretty much make up for his lackluster appearance in The Force Awakens.
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Though it may not be easy to fill her shoes, at least it’ll give Poe a little something more to do.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits theaters on Dec. 15.