STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI Spoilers - 10 Major New Story Details You NEED To Know
Entertainment Weekly has revealed a wealth of new details about Star Wars: The Last Jedi in their latest issue and we take a look here at all the biggest story details and fresh intel about what's to come.
It's been a while since we've seen anything new from Star Wars: The Last Jedi but with a new trailer on the horizon, Disney and Lucasfilm are finally pulling back the curtain on what's to come in the highly anticipated sequel. That came via a lengthy new feature in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly and they've debuted both a plethora of fresh images and long overdue story details about the movie.
What you'll find here then is an in-depth look at all of those. As well as inspecting those latest stills, we've rounded up all the biggest story intel to try and figure out what's to come in The Last Jedi and also picked out the most revealing quotes from the likes of Rian Johnson, Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, and John Boyega. Needless to say, some very juicy potential spoilers will follow from this point...
10. Why Luke Skywalker Believed Kylo Ren Was "The Chosen One"
In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we learned that Ben Solo turned to the Dark Side and murdered his fellow students at Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy alongside the Knights of Ren. Why, though, would such an event send Luke into exile? "[Luke] made a huge mistake in thinking that his nephew was the chosen one, so he invested everything he had in Kylo, much like Obi-Wan did with my character," Mark Hamill explains.
"And he is betrayed, with tragic consequences. Luke feels responsible for that. That’s the primary obstacle he has to rejoining the world and his place in the Jedi hierarchy, you know? It’s that guilt, that feeling that it’s his fault, that he didn’t detect the darkness in him until it was too late." Director Rian Johnson promises that The Last Jedi is going to answer why Luke has isolated himself from the Galaxy when his friends and family need him and you have to wonder if it's possible that he's trying to contain his own impulses to turn to the Dark Side.
9. Don't Expect To Learn Supreme Leader Snoke's Origin Story
"For example, in the original trilogy, we didn’t know anything about the Emperor except what Luke knew about him, that he’s the evil guy behind Vader. Then in the prequels, you knew everything about Palpatine because his rise to power was the story." That's a fair point but it would still be nice to find out how he took over The First Order and why Kylo Ren reports to him. Johnson, however, says "we’ll learn exactly as much about Snoke as we need to."
8. Finn Wants Out Of The Resistance
When we last saw Finn, he had been left comatose after that battle with Kylo Ren. In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, he's awake and ready to abandon the Resistance and flee to the Outer Rim as he initially wanted to in The Force Awakens. His wounds from those lightsaber strikes still burn and haven't fully healed and he had to watch Han Solo die so Finn is now ready to get the hell out of there.
When the movie begins, he's hoping to find Rey and take her with him but the problem is that Finn is now a very big deal in the Galaxy. "Everyone in the space, throughout the galaxy, would have heard about the young Jedi who discovered her powers and defeated Kylo Ren and the young former Stormtrooper who helped save the day," John Boyega says. "He’s a hero to people like Rose, who fight for the Resistance because their homes have been destroyed by the First Order." So, what's next for the reluctant hero? We'll get to that a little later.
7. Luke Skywalker Is Ready For The Jedi To End
When Rey finally comes face to face with Luke Skywalker on Ahch-To, she doesn't find what she was hoping for. The optimistic youngster whose story we followed in the original trilogy is now a broken man who would rather be left alone and remain lost from the Galaxy. This shocked Mark Hamill and he admits to struggling with the fact Luke has lost his original convictions in the years which have passed since the events of Return of The Jedi.
The rejection hits Rey hard too and while Luke reportedly offers an explanation for why he believes the Jedi should end, she's determined to get him back in the fight. Asked what Rey must be thinking at this point, Daisy Ridley says it's hard for her character to have gone from having Han as a mentor to the unwelcoming Luke. "’Oh my God, this other man that I lost within a couple days was somewhat of a father figure. Now he’s gone, and instead I’m with this grumpy guy on an island who doesn’t want me here.’"
6. Supreme Leader Snoke's Protectors
In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Supreme Leader Snoke will be flanked by the Praetorian Guard, a variation of the crimson cloaked Imperials who served the Emperor in the original trilogy. "The Emperor’s guards were very formal, and you always got the sense that they could fight, but they didn’t," director Rian Johnson explains before going on talk about what makes these protectors so different.
"They looked like they were more ceremonial, and you never really saw them in action. The Praetorians, my brief to [costume designer] Michael Kaplan was that those guys have to be more like samurai. They have to be built to move, and you have to believe that they could step forward and engage if they have to. They have to seem dangerous." Named after the real-life guards who protected ancient Roman emperors, the Praetorian Guard are by Snoke's side at all times and are "essentially bodyguards." We'll have to wait and see if they get any action!
5. Luke Skywalker's Past May Remain A Mystery To Us
The actor goes on to reveal that despite his decision to hide away from the world, Luke is full of regrets and wants to make things right...even if he doesn't know it yet. "I think he probably looks out on the horizon and wishes that he could be more effective, could be what Obi-Wan wanted him to be," Hamill adds. "But life is imperfect and without conflict there is no drama. Believe me, you’re going to see a lot of conflict in The Last Jedi."
4. Finn's Secret Mission
When Finn meets Rose (the "nobody" sister of Paige, a Resistance gunner who fights on the frontlines alongside Poe Dameron), he's taken aback by the fact that he's viewed as a war hero in her eyes. However, it's that which gives the former Stormtrooper something to live up to, hence why he decides to rejoin the fight despite desperately wanting to get out of it. Not a huge amount is known about their mission but they'll be part of a secret mission which takes them to the casino metropolis of Canto Bight on the world of Cantonica.
"The whole city is kind of one sort of luxury resort that’s been built on this very otherwise abandoned, arid planet," director Rian Johnson says. "It’s like Vegas with aliens. So maybe it is just like Vegas." What they'll be getting up to there isn't clear but it's thought that Poe will join them and that it's going to be a mission thought up by General Leia Skywalker.
3. Supreme Leader Snoke Will Be A Fully CGI Creation
"And then we scanned that and [Industrial Light & Magic] used that in their renderings, but Snoke will be an entirely CG creation." However, just because Serkis isn't donning makeup and prosthetics, don't expect him not to still steal the show here. "I’d be sitting at the monitor just with my eyes as big as dinner plates. It’s one of those performances where after every line, I’d look over at whoever’s standing next to me with an expression on my face like, ‘Oh, my God, we just got that."
2. The Caretakers And Porgs
Star Wars: The Last Jedi will introduce us to two new species of aliens on Ahch-To and those are the Porgs and Caretakers. Director Rian Johnson says he was inspired to include them after first visiting he Irish island of Skellig Michael (where the final scenes of The Force Awakens were shot) where he saw puffins and got the idea to make the ridiculously cute creatures the natural inhabitants of the island. One of them will, however, be hitchhiking aboard the Millennium Falcon.
As for The Caretakers, Johnson says they've been on Ahch-To for thousands of years, are all female, and that they "tolerate" Luke's presence on the island. Speaking of which, the various Jedi temples there will indeed be used to deepen the franchise's mythology thanks to various cave paintings and mysterious artefacts. It remains to be seen just how much they'll influence events moving forward but it will be well worth keeping your eyes peeled for Easter Eggs!
1. Does Luke Skywalker Actually Know Rey?
Speculation has been running rampant about Rey's parentage ever since Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released but it remains to be seen whether or not we get some sort of explanation in The Last Jedi. Some fans believe she's Luke's daughter while others think that she could be Kylo Ren's secret sister. One of the most popular theories is that she's part of Obi-Wan Kenobi's family and if that is the case, there's a chance Luke knows her.
Mark Hamill actually points to that being the case too! "I don’t think one girl, who he doesn’t know, turning up with a lightsaber is gonna make him go, ‘Oh, s—, yeah, of course I’ll get back into the action,’" Daisy Ridley says. Hamill, however, adds: "But does he not know her?" That's a question we'll soon have the answer to and it certainly deepens the mystery of who left Rey on Jakku all those years ago. Could she be the daughter of one of the Jedis slaughtered by Kylo Ren all those years ago?
Which of these new Star Wars: The Last Jedi details is your favourite? Do you have any theories about what's to come in the movie? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.