The only word we've had on it at all and I can't even remember from who was that 'Rians made a lot of choices fans aren't going to agree with'. Couple with that the cast themselves saying broadly it's very different and unexpected etc.

I will love it but won't be blind about it. The fanbase is a tinderbox anyways and loves complaining. That petition to get rid of JJ on 9 is up to something like 6000 signatures. A nothing number but they'll be the vocal minoroty you'll see complaining no matter what.

Personally I'm tempering expectations and really enjoying the run up to it. All the speculation and theorising is great fun. the best bit of any Star Wars movie release

Awesome interview with Hamill. Some little reveals. Translated from Russian so a little off in parts.

Now the saga is directed by directors who for the first time saw "Star Wars" as children and literally grew on them. In your opinion, does this affect how the galaxy far far away is developing now?

Yes, certainly. For the first time over the "Star Wars" there are directors from that generation who grew up on the saga, they were the fans since childhood. And it fascinates me. I thought I knew my character and understood how he can develop and who he can become with age ... But then JJ Abrams took up the job and surprised me very much with what he did with Luke in episode VII.

And, I confess, RIan surprised me even more with the role my hero took in his film. In the trailer, you saw Luke and heard his words that it was time for the Jedi to end, and this gives you an idea of ​​what great changes have happened to him. Indeed, in the original trilogy, Luke was the most optimistic character and acted as a symbol of hope. I will not say how I interpret what happened to him with age, but you will see for yourself how much he changed by the time of the "Last Jedi".

Some time ago, the whole Internet thundered your words that you were completely disagree with how Luke is shown in the new film. Obviously, you can not go into details about this yet. Could you at least tell how you envisioned an aged Luke?

I thought he would remain the same Luke, just older and more experienced. But, as it turned out, he experienced much and changed a lot. When I said that I did not agree with the image of Luke, created by Rian Johnson, then, perhaps, i expressed that too harsh. It would be more correct to say that I was greatly surprised by Rian's decisions. But I think that there is nothing wrong with that. Surprises are great. Especially in a movie like The Last Jedi, which aims to bring freshness into the saga and avoid the repetition of what has already been in the previous parts. The task of playing not the Luke I expected, was a kind of challenge for me. But I so deeply trust to Rian that I accepted his vision of the character.

You once said that playing the Luke in the original trilogy, you partly based his image on George Lucas himself. Were there any similar sources of inspiration for "The Last Jedi"?

There are too many people whose influence I could mention to list them all. Of course, one of the most important landmarks for me was Alec Guinness, who filled the image of Obi-Wan with the most powerful energy. I wanted Luke to look strong and purposeful, and to some extent, Lee Marvin, with whom I was in the "The Big Red One", served as an example for me.

But the essence of my work is to maximally accurately embody on the screen a character, conceived by the director. And for this I had to understand what role is assigned to Luke in the story, why he was in the state in which we meet him, and what he has to do. Therefore, I can not fail to note once again the influence of Rian Johnson on my work in The Last Jedi. He was always ready to answer my questions, discuss doubts and dispel fears. He became for me a kind of guru. I fully trusted him, and although I myself imagined things differently, if Rian was satisfied with the result of the shooting, then I was also pleased.

You started talking about the events that happened to Luke over the decades separating the classical and new trilogies. Almost nothing is known about this from the new canon. Will the VIII episode reveal the veil of secrecy?

From "The Force Awakening" you know what fate befell the Jedi Academy, where Luke was preparing a new generation of knights, and that his nephew turned to the Dark Side of the Force and murdered other disciples. I guess Luke was dumbfounded and broken, which forced him to go into exile. Of course, this is only a small fraction of what happened to him in the years between "Return of the Jedi" and VIII episode, and I can not tell anything more about those times. But I think you will learn the details from the upcoming episode.

You have said more than once that you were waiting for an active role in the "The Force Awakening". Was the training useful for working on the "Last Jedi"?

In "The Force Awakening" I did not have to do some action tricks, but the Lucasfilm, of course, acted wisely, sending me to train and diet. I'm not young anymore, and I needed to get in shape. And, of course, in the "Last Jedi" my actions are not limited to turning and dropping the hood - here I will have a more active role.

One of the most memorable moments of "The Last Jedi" trailer was your phrase "The Jedi must... end." You have often voiced the Joker in cartoons and games. Tell me, was there the temptation to pronounce these words in his voice?

Thats a good idea! (Laughs.) This phrase is just in the style of the Joker. It is easy to imagine how he pronounces it. And here's what I'll tell you, Dmitry: this phrase is the real quintessence of how much Luke has changed over the years.

I think this radical change can be explained by the desire of the studio to surprise the viewer with something new. A lot of books, comic books and games were published on Star Wars, my son got acquainted with most of them and told how strong Luke was in them. So much so that, perhaps, with the help of the Force, you can control a dozens lightsabers simultaneously. I remember thinking that if they decide to show it like that in the new episodes, then I do not have to do anything at all - I'll just have to stand before the green screen and wave with my hands, and the rest will be painted with the help of computer effects. And then, when I offered some ideas, I was often told that it was already in a book or a comic book. And the studio wanted to show Luke the way he had never been seen before.

Wait. We're gonna see Luke in ways we've never seen before? Fuck that. I'm out.

Again, using "safe" as a negative word in this context is silly. If the movie is good, then the movie is good. Who cares if it's "safe" by the internet's subjective standards?

Return of the Jedi is completely safe and predictable; just as much of a rehash/remake of A New Hope as The Force Awakens. Yet, it's still beloved and well executed. Many fans call it the best film in the franchise.

I'm ready to have my mind blown. That doesn't mean I'm expecting twists and turns or that I've even expecting something "we've never seen before" or anything like that. But I fully expect this movie to be great. I expect my mind to be blown by these characters and the storytelling quality and the images.

Well the middle film of this new star wars trilogy seems like the logical place for anything new and/or different from standard star wars themes.

When you don't have to figure out how every plot point will end and write out the final character arc for each character it can offer a lot of freedom. Also endings can only happen in so many ways. The middle portion of a trilogy seems a lot less constricting.

Funny you say that. I've always thought ROTJ works as a standalone. You don't really necessarily have to have seen or even know of the previous two films for it to work, in fact it works better if you haven't cos it's a pretty self contained story and outcome. You'd have questions for sure but it does work.

We're gonna see Luke in a gold bikini.

Really? The opening act is a continuation from Empires Strike Back. I don't see ROTJ as a standalone at all.

Kinda wow. It's as if he's posting here

http://www.starwarsunderworld.com/2017/ ... g.html?m=1

Gleeson told Collider,
"When I read it I needed to talk to him, and I think that’s always a good sign. I was like, ‘Wow there’s some stuff there which is kind of—not scary but different to what I expected,’ and that’s a really, really nice thing. I think that’s a really positive thing, I think that’s important for those films that we don’t repeat ourselves. So I just wanted to talk to him, and when I talked to him he was so clear and so confident, not in a brash way but he knew the film he wanted to make, and it was a really lovely thing."

He also commented on JJ Abrams' return to Star Wars for Episode IX, saying,
"[I found out] like two seconds before, but nothing’s revealed about which, if any of us, are in Episode IX or not. I think it’s really cool that he’s doing it, and I’m interested to see how he approaches it because he’s a superb filmmaker."

Sarge, you always know the right thing to say. I'm back in!

He took quite a stretch for a man of his age. Or a woman if the boobs aren't just the hrt side effects

TLJ runtime is 150 minutes apparently.

15 minutes longer than TFA OH YEA!

TFA never feels that long. It flies by.

I just got this in the mail. Scored it for less than £20 on eBay. It had to have cost that much again to post it's so heavy!

You're gonna love it. I was going to start on them again in the near future.

Loving it so far
Have to get the other two but they're MAD expensive. £60 up to 150.
Watching ESB book on eBay. Ending in two days. Have the highest bid on it at €15.

I'd read those other great books about the creation and writing of Star Wars but reading this I really can understand Foxs confusion with George's vision. It's all over the place and takes years right up til production starting to be distilled down into the story we have. He did say the finished product was only about 10% of what he wanted to do. I'm glad but curious about the other 90%. Could have been some magic in there.

It looks like a serial killer in training took that picture.