7 Secrets About Star Wars: The Last Jedi Worth Geeking Out Over

In the magazine's latest issue, the cast and director of the film reveal some surprising facts about the film

By Elyse Dupre Nov 29, 2017 7:16 PMTags
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Star Wars: The Last Jedi premieres in just a few weeks, but Rolling Stone is giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at the film before its Dec. 15 debut. 

The magazine's latest issue reveals untold secrets of the next chapter in the Luke Skywalker saga, including some facts fans probably didn't see coming. As director Rian Johnson put it, "I shook the box up a little bit." 

Here are seven of the film's biggest shockers:

1. The film is "somewhat a reflection on society."

The truth is stranger than fiction, as the old saying goes. And while life isn't always clear cut like the dark and light side of the force, Daisy Ridley, who plays the character Rey, said the film does tie back to modern times.

"It's somewhat a reflection of society," she told the magazine. "But also it is escapism, because there are creatures and there are people running around with f--king lasers and sh-t. So, I think, a wonderful mix of both."

2. It's also funnier than it looks.

While the film appears dramatic in the trailer, Johnson said the movie has its share of funny moments, too.

"That's one thing I hope people will be surprised about with the movie," he told Rolling Stone. "I think it's very funny. The trailers have been kind of dark—the movie has that, but I also made a real conscious effort for it to be a riot. I want it to have all the things tonally that I associate with Star Wars, which is not just the Wagner of it. It's also the Flash Gordon."

Lucasfilm Ltd.

3. Luke Skywalker was almost blind.

In the movie, Mark Hamill plays a "disillusioned" version of his famous Jedi. However, Johnson said he originally had other plans for Skywalker.

"Did I ever tell you that early on when I was trying to figure out the story for this, I had a brief idea I was chasing where I was like, 'What if Luke is blind? What if he's, like, the blind samurai?'" the writer-director told Hamill. "But we didn't do it. You're welcome. Didn't stick."

Rolling Stone pointed out this was before Donnie Yen played a blind martial arts fighter in the 2016 film Rogue One

Hamill, envisioning this depiction of his character, then joked back, "Luke, not too close to the cliff!"

Lucasfilm Ltd.

4. Hamill didn't originally agree with Johnson's direction of his character.

Hamill has been playing Skywalker since the '70s, so it makes sense he would be protective of the character. In fact, the magazine revealed that he didn't agree with Johnson's direction for the Jedi in this new film.

"We then started a conversation. We went back and forth, and after having to explain my version, I adjusted it," Johnson said. "And I had to justify it to myself, and that ended up being incredibly useful. I felt very close to Mark by the end. Those early days of butting heads and then coming together, that process always brings you closer."

5) Kylo Ren may be younger than he appears.

During the interview, Adam Driver, 34, said he's older than the character that he plays. 

"I don't want to say how much younger, 'cause people will read into it..." 

Rolling Stone then wrote that the actor "flushes, and later says he regrets mentioning it at all."

David James/Lucasfilm Ltd.

6. Ridley knows who Rey's parents are—and has for a while.

In J.J. Abrams' The Force Awakens, the whereabouts of Rey's parents are unclear. However, the actress playing the character has "known for years" who her parents are, and Abrams told her on set. Ridley told the magazine nothing has changed.

"I thought what I was told in the beginning is what it is," she told the magazine.

Lucasfilm Ltd.

7) The end of Skywalker's legacy may be looming.

After The Last Jedi premieres, Abrams will make another sequel, making it the last in the trilogy. And as the saga comes to the end, so might Skywalker's storyline.

"I do see it that way," Abrams said. "But the future is in flux." 

Ridley also told the magazine she doesn't want to play Rey after the next film.

"No, no, no," she said. "I am really, really excited to do the third thing and round it out, because ultimately, what I was signing on to was three films. So in my head, it's three films. I think it will feel like the right time to round it out."

To read more from Rolling Stone's interview with the cast and director, check out its latest issue.