As fans of the galaxy far, far away we tend to view every new Star Wars movie through the lens of what it means for the franchise and the characters, but what must it be like to literally look through the lens and create one? The burdens and responsibilities of being in the director’s chair are almost too innumerable to imagine, which is why we’ve been eager to get an idea of what it’s really like with the upcoming documentary The Director and the Jedi, which chronicles Rian Johnson‘s experiences leading The Last Jedi. And based on the film’s opening, which you can watch right now, it’s just as emotional, overwhelming, and crazy as you’d guess.
IMDb posted the first 11-and-a-half minutes of the doc, which we first saw at Slash Film, after it had it’s world premiere this weekend at SXSW in Austin. Directed by Anthony Wonke, it opens with the wrap party in London before going back to reactions to Johnson’s hiring and his beginning work on the film. There’s tons of great, new footage and details here fans are going to absolutely love–including why a droid design was turned down, the Ahch-To Caretakers in half costume dancing, Johnson’s response to being told George Lucas wants to talk to him, and the building of the movie’s massive sets–but the early rehearsal footage with Johnson, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, producer Ram Bergman, Mark Hamill, and Daisy Ridley is especially outstanding.
We take that back, Rian Johnson saying a farm of Russian Twitter bots spammed him begging that fascist leader Admiral Hux wasn’t killed was the highlight here–and the lowlight.
The full documentary will be included in The Last Jedi’s home release, available on March 27th, but what’s clear from this opening segment, which made us a a lot more emotional than we were ready for, is that this isn’t merely some behind-the-scenes footage about making a movie, it’s about the personal journey of Rian Johnson as he made a Star Wars movie. A task which looks just as impossible–and amazing–as it sounds.
What stood out to you from this footage? What part of the making of The Last Jedi are you eager to learn more about? Let the force be with you, and let your thoughts be with us in the comments below.
Featured Image: Lucasfilm
More of the nerdy things you need!
- What does The Last Jedi novelization tell us about Episode IX?
- Rian Johnson explains the gorilla walker design in our exclusive featurette clip!
- 9 things we learned about Disneyland’s new Pixar Pier!
