On this May the Fourth (Be with You), we’ve got some new information about Star Wars: The Last Jedi for you. Entertainment Weekly got ahold of the movie’s writer-director, Rian Johnson, who clarified a few burning questions fans have been left with since the end of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Here’s what we now know:
Why did R2-D2 accompany Rey to find Luke instead of BB-8?
While the narrative reason hasn’t been fully revealed, Johnson tells EW that he actually requested a droid swap for the final scene of The Force Awakens. “I asked if R2 could come with Rey, and if BB-8 could stay behind with the Resistance,” he says. “Originally it was BB-8 who went with Rey, which makes sense for the story in a way. But I asked, ‘Can you do me this solid and switch the droids?’”
Could Luke be more trusting of Rey at the start of ‘The Last Jedi’ thanks to R2 being there?
Possibly, though we don’t know if that’s part of the reason for Johnson’s request. What he does say is that R2 and Luke being together again is going to be important because it puts two of the original trilogy characters in the center of The Last Jedi (of course, Chewbacca is there, too). Plus it echoes R2’s accompaniment of Luke to see Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back.
So Luke is a central character in ‘The Last Jedi’?
After not only Luke but most of the original trilogy characters were somewhat sidelined for the introduction of Rey and other new heroes, apparently The Last Jedi will feature Luke front and center. “Figuring out where his head was at was the very first thing I had to do when writing the movie. I had to crack this. And it had to be something for me that first and foremost made sense. Why did Luke Skywalker go off to this island?” Johnson says. “That was the starting point, and that’s what the entire movie explores.”
Does Johnson hint at any more about why Luke fled and went into hiding?
Just a little bit, basically just to assure fans that he wasn’t just running away. On the idea of Luke’s flight into hiding making him a coward Johnson says, “I didn’t want it to. There has to be a good reason that makes sense to him — and to some degree makes sense to us.”
When does ‘The Last Jedi’ come out again?
December 15, 2017.
Originally posted at – http://www.fandango.com/movie-news/last-jedi-director-rian-johnson-reveals-what-he-had-changed-about-star-wars-the-force-awakens-752247
