The cover story of this month’s Vanity Fair features a preview arguably the biggest movie of 2017, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. On top of a fantastic portrait/behind-the-scenes gallery, VF writer David Kamp had the opportunity to sit down with the stars Daisy Ridley and Mark Hamill as well as the film’s director, Rian Johnson.
In this month’s feature we’re given more insight to two of the film’s sure to be iconic locations, Ahch-To, the location of the first Jedi Temple and Canto Blight.
From the interview, “’a Star Wars Monte Carlo–type environment, a little James Bond–ish, a little To Catch a Thief,’ the director said. ‘It was an interesting challenge, portraying luxury and wealth in this universe.” So much of the Star Wars aesthetic is rooted in sandy desolation and scrapyard blight; it appealed to Johnson to carve out a corner of the galaxy that is the complete opposite. ‘I was thinking, O.K., let’s go ultra-glamour. Let’s create a playground, basically, for rich assholes,’ he said.”
Vanity Fair also detailed three of the new characters featured in the new film.
“A ‘shady character’ of unclear allegiances, played by Benicio Del Toro, who goes unnamed in the film but is called DJ by the filmmakers (‘You’ll see—there’s a reason why we call him DJ,’ Johnson said); a prominent officer in the Resistance named Vice Admiral Holdo, played by Laura Dern; and a maintenance worker for the Resistance named Rose Tico, who is played by a young actress named Kelly Marie Tran (and who is the sister of Paige, the character I witnessed in the scene with Poe Dameron). Tran’s is the largest new part, and her plotline involves a mission behind enemy lines with Boyega’s Finn, the stormtrooper turned Resistance warrior.”
For the stunning photos and the interviews detailing both the film and how the cast members have reacted to Carrie Fisher’s sudden passing, click on over to the Vanity Fair cover story.