Science-Fiction Weekly – Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Han Solo, 10 Minutes Of Battlefront II Gameplay
Lucasfilm's secrets department has sprung a leak! Dozens of savory details for Star Wars: The Last Jedi hit the web this week, revealing everything from plot points to actual lines from the film. If you want to remain as SPOILER free as possible going into the film this December, run away from this article as fast as you can. Most of the leaks are tied to merchandise, which retailers cannot seem to keep off of shelves, even though none of it is supposed to go on sale until September 1.
The most interesting leaks are from action figures that spout of lines of dialogue. A Kylo Ren figure features 60 different sounds and voice clips from the film. A video of the toy hears him say a few interesting things, such as "Don't be afraid." My immediate reaction is he's entering someone's mind to probe for information, but he could also be talking to Rey, should they meet up again. Other lines are "I've been waiting for you," and "No! It's too late!" That last one has to be targeted toward a reunion with Luke Skywalker, right?
Adam Driver told Sunday Today that he hopes fans find Kylo Ren's role in The Last Jedi to be "unexpected." This is a common thought many actors have expressed, including Mark Hamill, who said he fundamentally disagreed with every choice made for Luke Skywalker in the new film's story. What would we classify as unexpected for Kylo Ren? Turning to the lightside? A death? Downing supreme leader Snoke to seize control of the First Order? The video below is a nice interview with Driver that shows how he's handling with the new level of celebrity associated with being in a Star Wars film.
Although many of The Last Jedi toys are sitting on store shelves, few people have been able to buy them, thanks to a street date alert that pops up at the register. Someone did manage to walk out of a store with the new 3.75-inch Star Destroyer set that comes packaged with Snoke. The first shot we saw last week established his immense height, but now we see he may be about fortune. The new shot from agalaxynearby shows his gold cloak is extravagant in design, and his left hand is adorned in large gold rings. Although we only saw Snoke as a hologram in The Force Awakens, we assumed he wore black, like a Sith lord. One can't help but speculate that the gold may be a reflection of other world leaders who are obsessed with gold, but I doubt Disney would let the story of Star Wars get that political.
Regardless, it's fun to see this character take shape through the leaks. Is he powerful with the Force? Will he just sit in a chair? Director Rian Johnson told Entertainment Weekly that he's a "force of nature." Check out agalaxynearby's gallery for another shot of the mysterious First Order leader. Another merchandising leak gives us a good shot of the heroes united. Luke looms large in the background and Chewbacca returns, but the focus is clearly on the new generation of characters. Looks like Poe is going to the same stylist as Han Solo.
If you thought the bad news surrounding the untitled Han Solo film was over, buckle up for another blast of disappointment. Actor Michael Kenneth Williams' role from the film was cut due to timing issues. Deadline caught up with Williams, and he said he was going to play a half-human, half-animal in the film. "When Ron Howard got hired to finish out the film, there were some reshoot issues that needed to be done in regards to my character, in order for it to match the new direction which the producers wanted Ron to carry the film in. And that would have required me on a plane a month ago to London, to Pinewood, to do reshoots," Williams said. "But I’m here, on location in Africa. It’s scheduling. I’m not going to be back on the market until the end of November after Hap and Leonard, and for them to wait that long for me, that would have pushed back the release date, which I believe is in May 2018. They wanted me now; I couldn’t go. So they had to clip-clip-clip.”
On a more positive note, Star Wars Battlefront II's space combat looks ridiculously good. As much as I enjoyed piloting X-Wings and TIE Fighters in the first game, the space combat mode felt like a somewhat hollow deathmatch. DICE and Criterion are addressing this concern in the sequel, and as you'll see in the footage below, the flow of war is objective driven. Sony shared 10 minutes of footage of the PlayStation 4 version, which looks stunning. November 17 can't come soon enough!
I'll leave you today with a brief clip of a toy that gives a voice to the adorable porg creatures that live with Luke Skywalker. I'm getting a real Gremlins vibe from these things. Sure, they look and sound cute, but what do they eat?