Rian Johnson and editor Bob Ducsay talk about one of The Last Jedi’s most controversial choices – Luke Skywalker’s arc in the movie and how it led to his last scene.
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The Last Jedi: More pictures, how the Rey/Kylo scenes were filmed, Story Group and more
Disney has posted a few new The Last Jedi things on their award site, including several new stills, an extended score, production notes and the BAFTA Q&A with Rian Johnson and the cast.
Rian Johnson talks to People about how they filmed the “Force connection” scenes between Rey and Kylo Ren. Remember those paparazzi shots of Adam Driver flying into Ireland with Daisy Ridley and Mark Hamill, and all those rumors of a big fight scene with the Knights of Ren? Jokes on us. Johnson has another wide-ranging interview over at the Daily Beast. He also explains Snoke’s big scene and the Kylo shirtless scene.
The NYT takes a look at the women behind Lucasfilm’s story group, mainly Kiri Hart. It’s not just Pablo!
You’ll never guess what from the Legends EU made it into the movie. Sort of. Hey, at least it’s not something Courtship of Princess Leia this time.
On that note, there’s a ton of meta happening on Tumblr. I’m reblogging a lot of it and hope to do a roundup of the highlights here, but for the moment, an analysis of “the sacred Jedi texts.” (There’s plenty more coming – the fandom is prolific and I have a ton of backlog in the drafts folder.)
Tech corner: Neal Scanlan on how they built the film’s creatures, and again | Visual effects supervisor Ben Morris on creating Crait and the Earth equivilants | How Yoda was rebuilt | The movie’s sound design | The creation and science of that silent hyperspace scene.
Rumor: Home release of The Last Jedi coming March 27?
The Digital Bits is reporting that The Last Jedi will likely be out on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on March 27. This is still tentative, and both The Force Awakens and Rogue One had layered releases, so keep that in mind before planning time off for GIFmaking and the like.
Going by the previous releases, we could get official word on the release date in February.
We expect that the release will contain at least 20 minutes of deleted scenes in addition to the usual making-of extras. Hopefully a director’s commentary is included in this one: We had to wait for the 3D home release to get J.J. Abrams’ commentary on The Force Awakens, but we know that Rian Johnson was recording one back in November.
Lego leaks confirm Solo artwork, Millennium Falcon’s ‘new’ look
Proving yet again that it’s always LEGO that leaks first… Turns out that the yellow image leak was LEGO merchandising art, and some (fuzzy, natch) photos of the set packaging confirms that the Millennium Falcon will have a different look in the standalone. Possible spoilers at the link, if that sort of thing bothers you.
The Last Jedi comes in #2 in China
China continues to be lukewarm on Star Wars as The Last Jedi opens in second place behind a local comedy. China is the film’s last major market, and the franchise has never done particularly well there.
Want General Leia’s ring from The Force Awakens?
You can now buy a Body Vibe replica of General Leia’s ring from The Force Awakens (which she also wears in The Last Jedi). The “signet ring” (per The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary) features two blue stones paired in a gold band. It’s avaliable on Amazon for $29.99.
Maybe we’ll see some replicas of the jewelry from The Last Jedi in 2019? Until then, keep your eyes on Etsy…
Rumor: Is something Star Wars going to film in Scotland in June?
There have been reports out of Scotland that Star Wars may be headed to Argyll and other areas in the north of the country in the summer for a new film.
Unfortunately, they all seem to peg it being for Rian Johnson’s new trilogy, which has no script, cast or release date yet. J.J. Abrams’ Episode IX seems like a more likely bet, and a tweet from a local tourism account lends slighly more credibility to that theory. IX is due out in December 2019.
There’s also the possibility it’s for the fifth Indiana Jones movie, which has a 2020 release date.
However, it’s noteworthy that we’ve seen plenty of false claims for shooting locations over recent years, so I hesitate to buy this one in full.
Solo gets his full name in Spain (at least)
This year’s Star Wars movie is Solo in the U.S., but will be called Han Solo in at least some international markers, per the franchise’s official page in Spain.
It’s likely to avoid possible trademark disputes, or perhaps to widen recognition for the film. It’s hardly conclusive, but we saw a version of this in what appeared to be a Russian leak last week.
No matter the title, it’s still expected in late May. (The 25th, here: International release dates may vary.)
Ron Howard welcomes the new year with a new Solo picture
Solo’s Ron Howard gives us a look at some very retro steering implements. “Happy New Year from Team #Solo,” the director tweets. “We’re pretty pumped for 2018.”
Are those acid wash jeans?
The Last Jedi joins the $1B movie club
Just in time for the new year, The Last Jedi has cleared the $1 billion mark in worldwide grosses. Domestically, it’s now passed Beauty and the Beast as 2017’s top-grossing movie.
It’s only just behind Rogue One as the eighth highest-grossing domestic movie of all time, and with only $15 million between them, is likely to pass it within a day or two.