‘Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi’ Will Focus On Luke Skywalker, New Footage Leaked
In Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, we’ll see more Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) with The Force Awakens‘ protagonist, Rey (Daisy Ridley). The years have taken its toll on the original trilogy’s hero, but we know that oldies in fantasy universes are the badasses. Will we see Luke in action-filed sequences? Yes, and we’ll also see him at peace and levitating.
Luke Skywalker Takes The Centerstage
Episode VII – The Force Awakens only showed Hamill for a few seconds before the camera cuts to the credits scene and he didn’t even talk. His character’s name Luke was referenced to several times in the movie, but in Episode VIII, he will finally exhibit what kind of powers he has acquired in the time between Episode VI and VII.
The Last Jedi is not airing until December this year, but filming already started last year. By now, there are a lot of on-set footages that were secretly shot and shared in the internet. One of which is of a scene where Mark Hamill is in his full Jedi master costume standing atop of a floating boulder.
The scene was filmed in Ireland, Screen Rant reported, and you can see the set during the shoot below. The rock was not meditating then, obviously, but post-CGI, Luke is no longer standing on a boulder attached to the ground. The after-effects shot was also shown in the video by YouTube user Mike Zeroh below.
The scene is reminiscent of Luke’s training with Master Yoda back in Dagobah, where he used the Floating Meditation technique. Clearly, Skywalker has moved on from little rocks to boulders, but it is unknown what the scene is for. It might be a shot of Luke contemplating or it is for trailer/poster purposes. Either way, we’re not sure if we will see it again in the final product or in the advertisements.
What We Know About Episode VIII
Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi is being helmed entirely by Rian Johnson. Aside from directing it, he is also the sole credited writer of the script, according to Vox. Both J.J. Abrams, director and a writer of The Force Awakens, and Daisy Ridley both praised the script, so we should be seeing another blockbuster movie from the franchise.
What the fans are interested in knowing, however, is whom “the last Jedi” refers to. There are three possibilities: Luke, Rey, or both. Skywalker was named the last Jedi in the opening crawl of Star Wars: Episode VII, making perfect sense of the title of the upcoming installment. The movie will be mainly about him, so it would not be a surprise if he is the character that the title indicates.
Star Wars 8: Rian Johnson discusses title, implying Luke Skywalker may be The Last Jedi (but possibly not) https://t.co/LPSWe87RK3 pic.twitter.com/rg4uDOvTKj
— Vancouver Film (@VanFilmIndustry) May 26, 2017
However, it could also be Rey. As she is a Force user, it’s only natural for Luke to set her on the course of being a powerful Jedi. But if she is indeed the last Jedi, then it means that the movie will have to kill off the other remaining Jedi, which is Skywalker. Han Solo (Harrison Ford) was killed off in the previous movie where he had a significant role. So why not Luke this time?
The third possibility is that the last Jedi refers to both Rey and Luke. Jedi could be in plural form; hence the title could easily be specifying both heroes of the franchise.
Star Wars: Episode IX Would Have Focused On Leia
Carrie Fisher had finished filming her scenes on Episode VIII before she died. She was looking forward to a bigger role in the last movie of the third Star Wars trilogy, but now the script is being revised to write her character, Leia Skywalker, out of it.
It seems that the original plan was to have each of the original trio shine in each movie, with Leia’s turn being in Episode IX. But now that the actress is gone, major changes are going to happen in the story. Who could possibly replace her important role? We’ll know in 2019.
Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi premieres in the U.S. on December 15.
[Featured Image by Star Wars]
