Today in The Last Jedi: Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver talk acting

It’s Daisy Ridley’s turn on publicity roundabout, and she’s chatting with Adam Driver for V Magazine. They discuss becoming “besties” on The Last Jedi set, The Force Awakens publicity weirdness and Murder on the Orient Express. The accompanying photos are VERY ’80s. (No Adam, but there’s British GQ for that.)

→ Meanwhile, Ridley is also over sorta-kinda-not-really talking about Rey’s parentage in Japan. /Film has the translation.

→ Some creature revelations from Neal Scanlan: Details on porgs, caretakers, droids and those crystal foxes.

→ Build-A-Bear has porgs. I repeat: Build-A-Bear has porgs! And some other stuff. But mostly porgs.

The Last Jedi: New Luke pic, behind the scenes video

USA Today has a great behind-the-scenes video of The Last Jedi, and they also talk to Rian Johnson about Luke – complete with a new still, above. Here’s what Johnson had to say about it:

Luke Skywalker has been in exile for years when Rey finds him on the island of Ahch-To, but the Jedi’s ancient tomes don’t look like easy reading. “It would be funny if you zoom in on that bookshelf and it’s all Robert Ludlum thrillers,” says Johnson, whose first duty was figuring out why Luke was there. “So when you see it in totality you’re like, ‘Oh, OK, this is why the galaxy’s greatest optimist and hero would be doing this.’ ” Johnson promises that Luke’s still strong and the years of isolation haven’t dulled his mind at all. “(Hamill’s) always been handsome and he’s just in this place now where he’s got so much gravity: You point a camera at his face and you feel depth and wisdom. He’s seen some stuff.”

But the video is the real star here, complete with a very quotable Carrie Fisher line about the director. Watch it at USA Today or below the cut.

Continue reading “The Last Jedi: New Luke pic, behind the scenes video”

New (but brief) look behind the scenes of The Last Jedi

The British Film Institue has posted a brief video featuring trainees who are working on Star Wars. Most of the trainees are shown working on the Han Solo movie – and we do see cinematographer Bradford Young – but the headline is few brief peeks at the filming of The Last Jedi. The shots, which feature Rey and Captain Phasma, are from scenes that we see briefly in the trailer, but it is our first look at any new Last Jedi footage since then.

Some new information indicates we might see a second trailer this summer. D23 Expo (July 15) is teasing “never-before-seen footage,” but given that they group all their live-action films together, we’re not guaranteed anything Star Wars.

→ Adam Driver, in an interview that’s mostly about him presenting the daughter of a disabled veteran with a scholarship, says The Last Jedi creates “new rules for the Star Wars universe.”

The Last Jedi’s Vanity Fair covers revealed!

Vanity Fair and Annie Leibovitz have come for The Last Jedi with a vengeance. They ‘re offering four covers (a rarity for them) which they revealed today. Tomorrow we get a look at the inside photos and the full story.

From the cover reveal, we see Phasma unmasked for the first time (RIP the popular Tumblr theory that she’s a Chiss) and learn the full name of Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico, “the new character with the most screen time.”

The issue will be on newsstands May 31 in New York and Los Angeles, and June 6 nationally. You can also order each cover individually, or get a poster with a subscription.

New “micro-short” series Forces of Destiny to highlight the women of Star Wars

Announced overnight, just ahead of the official opening of Celebration Orlando, is Forces of Destiny, a new series of animated shorts highlighting Rey, Jyn Erso, Sabine Wren, Leia Organa, Ahsoka Tano and more.


The series will launch in July on the Disney Youtube, with additional shorts debuting on the Disney Channel in the fall. Daisy Ridley, Felicity Jones, Tiya Sircar, Ashley Eckstein and Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata) are among those returning to voice their characters.

The series will also have book and action figure tie-ins. We’ll learn more later Friday at the “Heroines of Star Wars” panel here in Orlando.