On the Set of Star Wars: The Last Jedi With Director Rian Johnson

Directing a Star Wars movie is a pretty considerable undertaking. And for Rian Johnson, director of just 3 feature films (including the thought-provoking, dark sci-fi tale Looper) who played with the franchise’s toys as a boy and said the first movies he made up in his head were set in that universe, the opportunity was particularly meaningful.

As we’re slowly getting closer to the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, expected for December 15, Walt Disney Studios offers a new behind-the-scenes look at the highly anticipated installment, next and second in the exciting reboot trilogy series, but this time with a special focus on its director and his emotional journey throughout the creation of the colossal space adventure.

There’s a first time for everything, but for 43-year-old filmmaker Rian Johnson, supervising the making of one of the most awaited and scrutinized productions of the year meant he would come across many new, scary experiences along the way. But – probably what’s most admirable about Johnson – the director tackled the crazy amount of pressure with an incredibly positive and fun approach. “First time shooting with Mark [Hamill]. First time shooting with Daisy [Ridley]. First time shooting a Star Wars movie, and we got some cool stuff,” says Johnson in the video.

Although he never worked on a project of this scale before, Johnson, grateful and enjoying the adventure for all the extraordinary moments (he likes to call “holy craps”) it had to offer, managed to bring a refreshing creative vision to reinvent the franchise as confirms lead actress Daisy Ridley on the set, “Rian is doing many unexpected things and taking characters in new directions.” 

“Rian’s wonderful personality is all over this film,” adds Gwendoline Christie, making it clear that Johnson left his mark on the upcoming blockbuster that will finally reveal the fate of Rey, Luke Skywalker, and, well, pretty much the rest of the entire galaxy left at the mercy of Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and the First Order.

We’ll leave the ultimate word to late Carrie Fisher, who will appear as Princess/General Leia Organa for the last time in Star Wars 8, and also makes a notable appearance in the short making of expressing her admiration for the director – in her own, original way – “He has flaws in other areas. I just don’t know about them.”