Is it fair to say that, in the wake of The Rise of Skywalker, the reaction to Star Wars: The Last Jedi has grown more positive? It certainly seems like there are more fans who appreciate Rian Johnson’s controversial Episode VIII than there were back in December 2017. Regardless of your opinion on the movie, though, these new black and white behind-the-scenes images that the director just posted on social media are a must-see.
To celebrate Star Wars Day yesterday, the Knives Out filmmaker shared four gorgeous shots he’d taken during production on The Last Jedi on his Twitter account. “ahhhh FEEL THE LOVE,” Johnson wrote in his caption. Fans are indeed feeling the love, as his Tweet has got nearly 50k likes at the time of writing.
Check out the pics in the gallery below:
The first one offers a bit of insight into how Yoda’s cameo in TLJ was pulled off, with Mark Hamill sitting next to the Jedi Master puppet, and performer Frank Oz poking out from a hatch in the set beneath them. Another one, meanwhile, captures the reality of Luke and Kylo Ren’s final battle on Crait – actually filmed in a green-screen arena, while there’s also a cute pic of John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran posing with the kid from Canto Bight. Last but not least, Anthony Daniels sits by the controls of the Resistance ship, the Fulminatrix.
While fan appreciation for The Last Jedi has arguably gone up, we’ve also got those who actually work on the Star Wars saga coming clean about their gripes with the film. The Rise of Skywalker‘s editors have blasted Episode VIII, while The Clone Wars actor Sam Witwer recently accused Johnson of “not doing his homework.” Meanwhile, most notably of all, star John Boyega has thrown a lot of shade on it over on Twitter.
But whatever your opinion on Star Wars: The Last Jedi, it’s fascinating to see BTS shots like this as it reminds us of the move magic that goes into this saga.