Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
The Star Wars Show is teasing all the stuff we’ll see (or hear about) at this weekend’s D23 Expo. The likeliness of behind-the-scenes content for The Last Jedi seems high. It seems very high.
Andi also mentions a livestream, and you can see the schedule here. It doesn’t seem to include any panels, but Andi will be talking to Ashley Eckstein Friday and Saturday at 1:30 p.m., and Jennifer Heddle on Sunday at noon.
Making Star Wars has an adorable new rumor/potential The Last Jedi spoiler for y’all. It involves Artoo’s head and has nothing to do with BB-8. That’s all.
Lucasfilm and Star Wars will be at San Diego Comic-Con, but The Last Jedi won’t be taking a slot as one of the con’s big Hall H panels. The company told SDCC Blog that “our presence at SDCC 2017 will be focused on our booth on the convention floor, so there will be no press events or interview opportunities this year.”
The good news is that by the time SDCC rolls around, we may already have some movie news. Disney’s D23 Expo is the week before the mega-con, and Lucasfilm is part of their live action panel on Saturday, July 15. Speculation has it that we may get a behind-the-scenes featurette – something like what Lucasfilm brought to SDCC back in 2015. Rogue One launched theirs at Celebration Europe in 2016. Both were also July cons, so there’s an established pattern at work.
There may or may not be Han Solo news – there are rumblings about a title – but would anyone blame LFL if they keep quiet? On the other hand, giving a basic logline about the film beyond “young Han Solo” may help alleviate some of the ever-present wangst about its very existence. (A girl can dream.)
We probably will get some Star Wars news out of San Diego – it’s a frequent target for books, comics, collectibles and other things too minor league for D23 – but expect that anything big will be out on the 15th.
There’s still the question of that trailer, but I wonder if it’ll just turn out to be a shortened version of the first one? Stranger things have happened.
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.”
Because you can never have enough, I guess. Vanity Fair has a handful of pictures from Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy and her daughter, Meghan Marshall, during Annie Leibovitz’s Vanity Fair shoot.
In rumor/spoiler territory, we have some new First Order-centric leaks this afternoon, courtesy of the Facebook group Templo Jedi Aztlan. There’s some sort of guard, a new stormtrooper look, and a new AT-AT. The first seems similar to the new figures reported by Making Star Wars, who debuted a sketch of one earlier this week. (via)
→ No, John Boyega’s tweet about playing a villain was not about Star Wars. Really, people? It did lead to a fun exchange with everyone’s dad Mark Hamill though.
→ The Last Jedi will come out slightly earlier in the U.K. (December 14) than in the U.S. (December 15,) just like Rogue One and The Force Awakens.
→ In the midst of some overplayed panic about the sequel trilogy not being ‘planned,’ Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow has a few words about collaboration with Screenrant.
Pablo Hidalgo’s been at Comic Con Chile this weekend, and it seems that some of his statements have been lost in translation/misquoted/overstated, particularly something about the status of a Luke and Leia reunion. io9 reached out and got him to clarify. (Mind, he’s not saying it doesn’t happen, just that they were speaking of the Vanity Fair photos.)
→ John Boyega shows off Finn’s blaster for The Last Jedi on his Instagram. Like the rest of his new gear, or at least what we’ve seen, it’s basically the one Poe had in The Force Awakens.
→ Rian Johnson’s comments on romance in The Last Jedi sent some tremors through the hopes of a few of the trilogy’s shipping communities. Vanity Fair writer David Kamp shares the full quote in context.
→ Johnson’s shot of Annie Leibovitz shooting them, as seen in the Vanity Fair video. Shotception!
→ And finally, in spoiler corner, some Lego sets have leaked. They feature at least one newish vehicle, minifigs of Supreme Leader Snoke (which may confirm his new look,) Vice Admiral Holdo, a new(ish) variation of droid and a rank change for Poe. The images aren’t long for this world, but they are up at Imgur for the moment. (via)
Oscar Isaac talks about getting slapped by Carrie Fisher during The Last Jedi filming on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Vanity Fair is following up their blockbuster cover story and portfolio with a number of The Last Jedi sidebars today.
→ First up, how seriously Adam Driver takes his role as Kylo Ren. Includes priceless anecdotes from Mark Hamill and John Boyega.
→ Kathleen Kennedy and Rian Johnson dodge questions about the title.
→ Rey’s lightsaber is now officially Rey’s lightsaber, says Pablo Hidalgo. (Sorry, Anakin.) And what about Luke’s? (The green one.) Well…
→ What’s not in The Last Jedi? Romance. There’s “no one-to-one equivalent of the Han-to-Leia, burning, unrequited love.” Johnson says. “In our story, that’s not a centerpiece.” Good.
→ And finally, Kathleen Kenndy on Carrie Fisher, Episode IX, and other future films.
Vanity Fair’s full spread and story is up! You need to go check it out, but here’s a quick rundown what we’ve learned: Laura Dern is Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo of the Resistance, and Benicio Del Toro doesn’t get a name at all in the film – though they’re calling him DJ. (Seeeecretsss.) And yes, there are pictures of both. Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico has a sister, Paige, a Resistance gunner, played by Veronica Ngo. And the planet filmed in Dubrovnik is indeed named Canto Bright. “I was thinking, O.K., let’s go ultra-glamour. Let’s create a playground, basically, for rich assholes,” director Rian Johnson said.
The article also includes some touching tributes to (and photos of) Carrie Fisher, so keep the tissues handy.
Writer David Kamp will be answering questions about the story on Reddit later today.