Information continues to trickle out about Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and we couldn’t be happier about it. Today’s source is Vanity Fair’s wide-ranging cover story, which features some mouth-wateringly good photos of the cast and crew, as seen in the gallery down below.
Within the article is, among others things, a chat with director Rian Johnson, who loosens his lips for a moment in order to shed some light on just what the hell a beardy Luke Skywalker is doing on Anch-to, a barren rock in the middle of nowhere. Post-The Force Awakens, fans quickly argued about what he might be up to, with most concluding that he’s gone into self-imposed exile after a tragedy he could have prevented, possibly involving Kylo Ren. Han Solo himself even chipped in, theorizing that Luke had gone in search of the first Jedi Temple. Well, according to Johnson, Han was right on the money.
The concept of a ‘first’ Jedi Temple will be catnip to Star Wars fans, as large portions of the extended universe were devoted to the early history of the Jedi Order. In particular, the fan favourite Knights of the Old Republic series of comics and video games. Of course, Disney’s acquisition of the IP blasted the EU away with the force of a Death Star super laser, so there’s no guarantee that Johnson’s concept of the first Jedi will follow from there. Still, it at least gives us hints of what Luke might encounter.
But above all that, Luke’s quest for the original Jedi Order suggests that he’s looking for a kind of religious purity free from the inert pomposity that doomed the staid Jedi of the prequel trilogy. Maybe he’s decided to explore the ways in which the Force was first encountered and utilized, possibly as a way to try and bring Kylo Ren back to the light? Time will tell, but if The Last Jedi is prepared to properly dig into the pre-history of the Star Wars universe, it’s going to make for one heck of a ride come December 15.
