While nearly all of what has been shown to attendees of the Disney-themed convention D23 has remained unreleased to those outside of the convention hall’s walls, they have posted the behind-the-scenes sizzle reel for this December’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi. And of course, this sneak peek offers us some new information about the film, confirms a rumor or two and generates some questions that will keep fandom talking until at least whenever the next trailer is released.
Here’s just a few quick initial impressions –
One of the first things we see in the reel is the filming of an explosion, with vibrant red dirt spraying over a camera operator. It seems likely that this is for the same sequence that will also include the one shot from the first Last Jedi trailer that featured speeders skimming along a desert-like landscape, kicking up a similarly-colored dust cloud.
We do get to see several shots of Rey being trained by Luke. We see her practicing her lightsaber work, running and evening diving into some water for some reason. But it should be noted that in the various shots we see both of their clothing go back and forth from lighter to darker shades. We know from the already released trailer that Luke appears to want to let the traditions of the Jedi die. Is this color shift in their wardrobe indicative of a different path the two may be on? Are Rey and Luke becoming something different than the standard Jedi we’ve known?
Another thing that the reel seems to emphasize is the number of alien creatures that are once again going to be realized through practical means, be they makeup effects or animatronics. While these effects will undoubtedly get augmented with CG work, it is nice to see that the basis will be actual tangible, physical objects with which the actors can interact.
While the reel does show off all the returning characters from The Force Awakens, it also gives us our first glimpses of Kelly Marie Tran as Resistance member Rose in action, at one point dressed in a First Order uniform with what appears to be Finn next to her. Looks like there will be more sneaking into First Order bases in this film. The sizzle reel also confirms the rumor that one of the new planets in the Star Wars galaxy we will visit will be a casino one.
And Carrie Fisher talking about how the film is about family not only invokes more feelings about her untimely passing late last year, but may offer an additional clue as to what may be revealed about certain characters in the film.
