We ’ve hadreveals fromStar WarsCelebrationand a teaser trailer that crystallise us on much of the first human activity , but theVanity FairStar war : The Last Jedipreview has render us the most concrete info on Rian Johnson ’s next entering in the blank space opera yet .

There are many constant inStar Wars- rousing score , sarcastic droids , sound in outer space and a seemingly never - end ravel of planet - destroying space station . But one lesser - recognized element is theVanity Fairfirst - smell ; the powder store has had dibs on the initial images from each new Episode in the series sinceThe Phantom Menacein 1999 . And , positioned for the original movie ’s 40th Anniversary ( at one point intend to be the release escort forEpisode VIII ) , the one forThe Last Jediwas particularly special .

Betweenfour different covers(a first forStar Wars ) , a in - depth serial of articles , a beautiful photoshoot by Annie Leibovitzand an incredibly candidReddit AMAfrom writer David Kamp , there ’s a lot to digest . To make it a scrap easier , here ’s our dislocation of everything we learned .

Emperor Palpatine laughing maniacally in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.

The First Jedi Temple (And Non-Jedi Village)

Beyond that and those striking pictures , little more concrete information regarding Luke or his wish to end the Jedi was discussed . Johnson take over the illation from Celebration that Luke and Rey ’s relationship was n’t going to be a proportionate Master - Apprentice one and reaffirmed that this time around we get " very unlike side of the Luke theatrical role " . One niggling thing that was confirmed is that Luke has a brown mitt over his cybernetic hand , meaning he was the one reading the Jedi volume in the trailer .

Rey’s New Possessions

InThe Force Awakens , Rey did n’t just uncover Force might but also came into self-control of two important pieces ofStar Warsiconography : the Skywalker lightsaber and the Millennium Falcon . There ’s been some speculation over where there will in conclusion end up , but it ’s now clear they belong to the former scavenger .

The weapon is , per the Lucasfilm Story Group ’s Pablo Hidalgo , now referred as " Rey ’s lightsaber " inside Lucasfilm , signify it ’s now transitioned to the new genesis ( in the appendage downplaying the possibility of Luke handle it again ) . Nothing has been explicitly say about the Falcon , but as the word picture show her and Chewie in the cockpit ( with Rey in the pilot ’s seat ) the illation is that it ’s somehow now her ship too .

Luke’s Green Lightsaber May Return

The former Skywalker saber is n’t the only Jedi weapon floating around . accord to Hidalgo , Lucasfilm has been keeping rail of Luke ’s green lightsaber fromReturn of the Jediand , although he way coy about item , it may still seem in the films . The lightsaber was last seen on Luke ’s whang at the end ofJedi(he reclaimed it before the Death Star blew up ) and was used in sequel comicShattered Empire , meaning he presumptively still has it .

Whether he ’ll use it inThe Last Jedi(orEpisode IX ) , or he ’s developed beyond such rudimentary implements of war a la Palpatine , is kept a mystery , but it seems likely to be a factor in the expanding story in some var. .

Benicio del Toro and Laura Dern’s Characters Confirmed

Even beforeThe Force Awakenshit there were rumors Benicio del Toro was in talks to appear inEpisode VIII , and in year after the casting was made official conjecture has been rampant . Is he Thrawn ? Is he Ezra ? Is he a Fett ? It turn out - unsurprisingly - none of these . That said , we ’re still not 100 % who he is ; perVF , the theatrical role was called " DJ " on the set , but that ’s not his literal name . The movie maker were unbelievably tightlipped , saying that we wo n’t even find out what he ’s really called in the motion-picture show ( although the reason for the nickname will be made clear ) . He ’s account as a " shady character " and the histrion say his public presentation claim influence from Tom Waits . betting odds are he ’s neither Resistance or First Order .

The other fresh addition isLaura Dern ’s character , Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo . A high - order Resistance officer , she has an override a purple wearing apparel sense , right down to her haircloth . Very little more was enjoin about the character , but she ’ll presumably roleplay a part in flesh out the Resistance .

Finn and Rose’s Undercover Mission

The other major new character isRose Tico , Kelly Marie Tran ’s Resistance maintenance worker who was first seen at Celebration . Vanity Fairreveals that she has a sister in the rebellion , Paige , a gunner play by Veronica Ngo who is coach by Poe Dameron . Rose is seemingly the self-aggrandising unexampled increase , get with Finn on an surreptitious mission against the First Order .

Finn will first have to recover from the combat at the death ofThe Force Awakens , which will be accelerated by thebacta suitthat was bruit a while back , was glimpsed in the mystifier and is finally confirm by John Boyega in an audience here . The actor also stated that , after spending a movie posing as a Resistance hero , this clock time aroundhe really becomes the legend , both from word of hisEpisode VIIadventures and his action inThe Last Jedi . One matter that ’s unlikely to happen with Finn , though , are any lightsaber affaire d’honneur - the star said that no more Force - related put-on are planned afterThe Force Awakens ' fake - out .

Canto Bight - Star Wars' Monte Carlo

DuringEpisode VIII ’s output there was filming in Dubrovnik , Croatiarumored to be a casino planet , and now we have a name and a taste perception of the opulence . Stylistically , Canto Bightis intended to be a footfall up from the barren , ravaged worlds that so far defineStar war , but still fitting that " used future " aesthetic . The city is have in mind to be the rich , high - end side of the galaxy that , according to Pablo Hidalgo , survive " aside from the astronomical battle . " Of course , that galactic struggle is coming to them , with the planet said to be somewhere Finn and Rose end up on their mission ( and , ifset photosare anything to go by , this will be a expectant event ) .

Canto Bight also feature conspicuously in the located photo ; while it ’s a few class notch about the Mos Eisley Cantina , this seems to be where the puppet shop class get to show off their wares , with a wide range of mountains of novel and uncanny alien creatures seen , albeit trim in much more formal , in some shipway un - Star - Wars - y dress .

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There Isn’t Much Snoke In The Last Jedi

Snoke is barely reference in the mainVFcoverage , and in the AMA Kamp revaled why;the Supreme Leader is n’t inThe Last Jediall that much . The author apparently asked Johnson about the fibre ’s much - turn over identity , only to ascertain the director does n’t research him much at all inEpisode VIII . This could have just been misdirection , but it seems potential that the mystery of Andy Serkis ' marred puppetmaster will remain unsolved until May 2019 andEpisode IX .

This is a underage detail , but does intimate the picture will be focalize more tightly on Kylo Ren and the First Order than the being behind them , and likeReturn of the Jedithe sequel trilogy is saving its big bad for part three .

Kylo Ren Is Haunted By Killing Han Solo

The lack of Snoke is reverberate in the demonstration of the nefarious trio brought over fromThe Force Awakens , Kylo Ren , General Hux and Captain Phasma . While Hux and Phasma at first appeared disposable , they ’re set to number back with a retribution inEpisode VIII .

The antagonists are all impact by their frustration in the last film , specially Ben Solo ; Kylo has taken thefull spell to the Dark by killing his Father-God , but now has to deal with the deep internal scarring that ’s produced , wrestle with his action . This is reflected in Adam Driver , who remained in - character - i.e. introverted and alone - at all times of bent : " The things about that character that I find painful , that I really relate to , I kind of prefer to keep to myself " . As a result , he defy a dejeuner invitation from Mark Hamill and cracking him becoming a running put-on for the other cast phallus . Based on the images , the character definitely appear to be evolving , with no helmet and a newfangled cloak .

Phasma is also unmasked with Gwendoline Christie scowling horrifyingly ( something that was n’t always plan but will happen in the motion picture ) and boasting aretractable stave - same weapon .

Diego Luna as Cassian Andor in Andor season 2

It’s Darker (But Has Humor)

One thing that ’s really seeming from all of the various quotation mark is thatThe Last Jediis different to what ’s come before ; as John Boyega pronounce , " everything is being shifted in the opposite way to what the interview await after VII " . In the AMA , Kamp explicitly discussed how the flick would tonally differ , nibble up on two fundamental running threads from conversation with Johnson ; it ’s darker yet has sense of humour . Apparently the former come from the fitting"operatic"style Johnson is go for , but there was no indication where the latter total in .

One major compare toThe Force Awakens , though , is that the sets will be mostly practical , continuing the Disney - epoch ’s balance of substantial and CGI .

The Title Came Before The Story

It ’s well known that the title ofThe Force Awakenswasn’t decided on until after fool ; J.J. Abrams earlier wanted to call his filmShadow of the Empire . It was make bold this would be standardised forEpisode VIII , but Johnson divulge thatThe Last Jedi"was the very first thing , when I had not even written the script " and that the name powered the report as it come together .

As for what the deed means , theVanity Fairstory offers up two different angles . Kathleen Kennedy was typically tight - lipped , but the director revealed that he did n’t think there was much mystery to it , it was intended as singular and while pass in it ’s signify to cite to Luke , that could shift over the course of the picture show .

There’s No Romance

One pocket-sized point that severely toy againstThe Last Jedibeing aremake of The Empire Strikes Backis the reveal from Johnson that thereisn’t a love storyat the core of the film . As he say , there ’s " no one - to - one equivalent weight of the Han - to - Leia , electrocution , unrequited love . In our story , that ’s not a centerpiece . "

There was a lot of romance speculation come out ofThe Force Awakens- Rey and Finn , Rey and Kylo , Finn and Poe - and Rose and Finn operate together throw up another dynamic , but it look none of these will be leaned on , at least not overtly .

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The Ending Wasn’t Set When They Started Episode 8

Perhaps the big affair we instruct aboutStar Warsas a whole is the approach Lucasfilm are taking to the story . As Kamp say in the AMA , Abrams and Kasdan had n’t outlined a full story for the trilogy and or else the succeeding directors were allowed to " write their films and make up plot of land and characters from scratch " . It ’s been cognise for a while that thing were undefended to exchange with the wider arc , but the lawful tier of devoid - rolling was n’t made clean .

In regards toThe Last Jedi , the major maturation is that it really is the second act of a taradiddle , with Johnson leaving plenty drop for Trevorrow to pick up . Kamp said " he ’s made a mess that Colin [ Trevorrow ] will somehow clean house up " and that Kathleen Kennedy see the film as the"conflict"of each trilogy ’s " Setup ; difference of opinion ; Resolution " make-up .

However , the ending will be known now - the clause revealed thatproduction on Episode IX will begin in January 2018 . This is a standardized schedule toThe Last Jedi , with shooting starting after the release of the previous episode , although of grade this time is operating on a shorter time weighing machine ; the next moving picture comes out in May , not December .

Sidious, Tyranus, Maul, and Vader.

Episode 9 Was Going To Be Leia’s Story

This untimely death of Carrie Fisher in late 2016 looms large overThe Last Jediand how the moving-picture show will deal Leia has been a major topic of treatment . Although the specific are n’t bonk , Lucasfilm have confirm that Fisher ’s completed role inEpisode VIIIwill be unaltered and thatthe character wo n’t appear inEpisode IX- be that through unused footage , recasting , body doubles or CGI .

What the accurate original architectural plan was for Leia is unclear , but agree to KennedyEpisode IXwas set tofocus heavily on Leia - The Force Awakenswas Han ’s story , The Last Jedi ’s Luke ’s , so it was only fitting to exit the trilogy on the last member of the trio . The audience fill office during the make over ofEpisode IXfollowing her passing , so there ’s no more specifics in the slice , but Kamp did paint a picture in the AMA that " her absence seizure / expiry will be advert to in some elegant way " .

The Next Standalone Is Probably Coming in 2020

AsRogue One ’s $ 1 billion vulgar proved , Star Warsisn’t just about the Episodes any longer . Spinoffs are a big part of the dealership future and while we did n’t learn much more about these from theVanity Fairstories , Kennedy did drop two cardinal - if - faint particular about this . First , she said that despite no official announcement or release date yet , the odds are pretty strong the next Anthology movie afterHan Solowill come in 2020.A decision is go to be made in June , meaning we ’ll likely get proper Good Book at D23 in July .

The other detail is on a wider dealership shell - even if we do n’t getObi - Wan / Boba Fettin 2020 , the write up moving picture are " Absolutely . dead . " a key part ofStar warfare ' future .

The Post-Episode IX Future

In term of the independent Skywalker Saga Episodes , Kennedy was more uncertain , presumptively because a decision of whether to expand intoEpisode X , XIandXIIis yet to be make up one’s mind ( or , indeed , if future Episodes will even be done in trilogy ) . However , Lucasfilm are grappling with that precise question : " Does the saga extend beyond the nine movies that George project ? " Lucas famously had written nine script back in the late-1970s and early-1980s , soeven though his treatments have been thrown outthe continuation trilogy is unwaveringly within his vision , but any further goes beyond .

If it happens , it sound like it will be down to the success of the young characters , with Kennedy cease the discussion articulate the realy design is to work out out"what exactly is the story we feel is crucial to tell beyond Episode IX " .

Random Points

And , last , a few choice snippets revealed across the coverage :

Next:There Will Never Be Another Star Wars

Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker next to the poster for Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

Custom Image by Lewis Glazebrook

Luke with a green lightsaber in Return of the Jedi

Hologram Snoke in Star Wars The Force Awakens sitting in his throne and looking down angrily

Star Wars - Finn and Poe

Carrie Fisher Kathleen Kennedy Rian Johnson and Mark Hamill on set of Star Wars The Last Jedi

Star Wars The Last Jedi teaser trailer - General Leia

Star Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi vs Boba Fett

Star Wars Episode 9

Star Wars

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi