7 Sneak Peeks Revealed | Star Wars: The Last Jedi Press Conference

I attended the 45 minute Star Wars: The Last Jedi Press Conference & got to witness 7 sneak peeks revealed about the newest film. (No spoilers though.) And yup, I’m sharing them with you. This post is sponsored by Disney. All galactic opinions are my own. #TheLastJediEvent

7 Sneak Peeks Revealed | Star Wars: The Last Jedi Press Conference

Breathing the same air as Mark Hamill. That was enough for me. But then line up on a couch Rian Johnson, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Issac, John Boyega, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Domnhall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie, and Andy Serkis and you have a room that is the Star Wars: The Last Jedi Press Conference. A glorious 45 minutes of complete Star Wars nerd-dom, we got a closer look at what makes this Star Wars sequel unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. Reading between the lines, I picked up the 7 Sneak Peeks Revealed that you’re going to want to know before seeing this film. No spoilers!

Full Star Wars: The Last Jedi Press Conference Recap Video

The full 45 minute Star Wars: The Last Jedi press conference was recorded live just for you on my Facebook page. Watch the whole thing (including their entrance with some pretty intimidating Praetorian Guards) above in this recap video.

Darker Tone

It is the movie referred to as the “Empire Strikes Back” of the series. Director Rian Johnson admits that The Last Jedi will have a different tone than The Force Awakens.

It’s a second movie in the trilogy and I think we’ve been kind of trained to expect it’ll be a little darker. Obviously it looks a little darker. The thing is though for me I loved the tone of the original films and also in The Force Awakens [is] fun. First and foremost we were trying to make it feel like a Star Wars movie. You have the intensity and you’ve got the opera, but it also means that it makes you come out of the theater wanting to run in your backyard, grab your spaceship toys and make them fly around. That’s a key ingredient to it. So we’re going to go to some intense places, but I hope also it’s fun.

Story Driven

This is war. With the fledgling Resistance in desperate times and The First Order enraged for battle, this is the war saga portion of the series we are hoping for. Fewer new characters means quicker diving into the story – which I think is the best part. It was hinted that there will be new team ups in this film as the Resistance scatters (Finn and Rose already revealed) – ultimately rejoining again by the end of the film.

Adam Driver remarked how the story will be the driving force of this film:

There’s not a moment that’s taken for granted. It’s always broken up into little pieces. The story in our mind comes first, before an explosion.

And John Boyega touched on the intensity of the characters’ stories:

The story is moving forward, challenging the characters and then all the characters are under intense pressure, and so it’s a time which everyone has their own specific reckoning, and it’s all different. There hasn’t been a Star Wars movie yet that has explored war in the way The Last Jedi does. It’s very messy, the categorizing of good and evil is all mixed together.

Oscar Issac jumped into the war description as well:

It’s a dire situation, it’s critical. The Resistance is on it’s last legs. They’re trying to survive. First Order’s right on top of us. It is like war, and so you feel the momentum of everything that happened in The Force Awakens just pushing and getting to a critical mass in this film.

And Daisy Ridley hinted about the new team ups here:

The film was a challenge to be in different combinations of people. We’re in different situations, we’re with different people that we are learning about, we’re meeting for the first time.

Easter Eggs

According to John Boyega (whom Rian Johnson referred to as “the biggest Star Wars fan I know in the world”), look for Easter Eggs. They’re in there.

I’ve only watched it once and the first thing is that I want to watch it again because of the amount of information and Easter eggs in there.

Mark Hamill is STILL Amazing

If you need anyone to keep your secret, Mark Hamill is your man. A sneaky question from the audience about “training Rey” revealed just how trusting this guy can be with your darkest (side) secrets.

Do I? People say, was it difficult to pick up and wield a lightsaber again? And I go, do I pick up a lightsaber?

Can we expect a different role for the Luke Skywalker we know and love? Mark Hamill admits that Rian Johnson pushed him “outside of his comfort zone” for this film. But perhaps he was eluding to just the new stylish sock preference? Maybe. But he does make a simple promise.

I can promise you, my part is twice as big as it was in The Force Awakens.

The Women Are Going to Kick Butt

I am woman. Hear me roar. It’s all about the strong women in The Last Jedi. If you’re not on the empowered women train, time to get on board.

Gwendoline Christie couldn’t applaud the women characters enough in this film.

You get to see women that are not being strong just because they’re acting like men. They’re doing something else.

And Laura Dern had nothing but good words to say about her collaboration with Rian Johnson on her character, Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo.

I was moved by the fact that he really wanted her streng th to first lead with a very deep femininity and to see a powerful female character also be feminine is something that moves away from a stereotype that’s sometimes perceived in strong female characters must be like the boys. I thought that was a really interesting choice to get to witness.

Kelly Marie Tran hinted that not just one, but ALL of the women in this film are going to wow us in The Last Jedi. I’m holding her to that.

The girls in this movie kick some butt. Every single one is so good.

Independent Film Roots

F-A-M-I-L-Y. Are we talking Star Wars or independent film? The actors admit to a different feel on-set of The Last Jedi, where Snoke gets emotion and the new girl fits right in. Intimate is the root of this “Independent Film” feeling while working with Director Rian Johnson.

Weird to hear that Snoke was emotional, but Andy Serkis put some feeling into his response:

It was really intimate and very emotional and I wasn’t expecting that at all.

John Boyega:

You still feel an intimacy when you’re doing these scenes, an independent with a big budget.

Even the new girl, Kelly Marie Tran discussed how working with Rian Johnson was intimate:

Intimacy of discovering each character’s conflict…

These Are NOT the Droids You’re Looking For…Or Are They?

Unlike the trilogy of old, we will not be following the hero’s journey through the eyes of the droids, as George Lucas had done previously. With many references during the press conference to Star Wars: The Last Jedi reflecting more modern times (such as more empowering women, more diversity and more kick-butt action), it’s not too much of a surprise to see the droid journey shifting. But let me tell you, it was also hinted by Oscar Issac that the droids of The Last Jedi will be challenged in ways we’ve never seen before.

I think what Rian’s done so incredibly well is that he’s challenged deeply every single character, including the droids, with the biggest challenges they’ve ever faced.

Have you been following my #TheLastJediEvent Journey? Catch up on the exclusive insider info and interviews right here:

It’s the FINAL countdown. Only 2 days until Star Wars: The Last Jedi is in theaters. I cannot wait to see all of the actors from couch to big screen in just a few days.

What sneak peek from the Star Wars: The Last Jedi Press Conference is your favorite?

I was invited to attend an all-inclusive press trip, sponsored by Disney. Be sure to follow Raising Whasians for more Disney insider information, movie updates and entertainment!

Looking for more Star Wars amazingness? Be sure to check out the entire Star Wars: The Force Awakens exclusive interviews: