PPL Dec2017 by Susan Smith

“

I need someone to show me my place in all this” —REY

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

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PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

CONTENTS SPECIAL December 2017

Welcome to People’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi special issue! This deep dive into the epic saga’s Episode VIII (in theaters Dec. 15) features exclusive interviews, photos and secrets from the set. Porgs included.

SNEAK PEEK

From Luke and Rey’s meeting to Kylo Ren on a rampage, get a look at intense moments from The Last Jedi.

ALL ABOUT THE STARS

Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and more return, while newcomers Kelly Marie Tran, Benicio Del Toro and Laura Dern join the saga. Plus: a special tribute to Carrie Fisher.

THE FIRST JEDIS

Legends of the series, including George Lucas, Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill, reunite.

DROIDS

BB-8 has competition this time around as the malevolent BB-9E rolls onto the scene.

{ Porg. Actual size. }

Porgs, 10-in.-tall avian creatures that live on Luke Skywalker’s island, are among the breakout stars of The Last Jedi.

CREATURES

A melting pot of aliens always finds a place to gather in the Star Wars universe, whether it’s a cantina or the casino city Canto Bight in The Last Jedi. PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

CONTENTS

PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Rich Battista CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER Alan Murray

EDITOR IN CHIEF Jess Cagle

DEPUTY EDITOR J.D. Heyman

THE GALACTIC POWERS

These visionaries fuel the Star Wars engine.

THE FANS

Dressed as stormtroopers, Darth and Leia, superfans from around the world marched through this year’s Star Wars Celebration convention.

DAISY RIDLEY

Even after the success of The Force Awakens, Ridley says, “the jitters were very much still there” when she returned for The Last Jedi.

SENIOR EDITOR Samantha Miller ENTERTAINMENT PROJECTS EDITOR Mary Green EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR Andrea Dunham DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Catriona Ni Aolain DESIGN DIRECTOR Phoebe Weekes

DEPUTY DESIGN DIRECTOR (LEAD DESIGN) Dean Markadakis

The cast and crew take you inside the making of The Last Jedi.

SENIOR ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR (LEAD PHOTO) Joe Rodriguez

WRITERS Jodi Guglielmi, Julie Jordan, Kara Warner

BEHIND THE SCENES

FAREWELL TO A LEGEND

Mark Hamill pays tribute to his friend Carrie Fisher.

CONTRIBUTING WRITER Chris Tauber REPORTER Sabrina Ford DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL OPERATIONS Alexandra Brez ART PRODUCTION Rachel Moskovitz Abraham (Director), Cynthia Miele, Daniel J. Neuburger, Dominick Santise (Production Artists), Brien Foy, Salvatore Lopez (Digital Imaging Specialists) COPY DESK Joanann Scali (Chief), James Bradley (Deputy), Ellen Adamson, Gabrielle Danchick, Rich Donnelly, Ben Harte, Rose Kaplan, Matt Weingarden (Copy Editors)

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

PREMEDIA Romeo Cifelli (Manager), Franklin Abreu, Kevin Grimstead, Ana Kaljaj TIME INC. Jen Wong (Chief Operating Officer and President, Digital), Sue D’Emic (Chief Financial Officer), Leslie Dukker Doty, Brad Edlers, Lauren Ezrol Klein, Greg Giangrande, Steve Marcopoto, Erik Moreno (Executive Vice Presidents), Karen Kovacs (Advertising Group President), Susan Parkes-Cirignano (Senior Vice President, Advertising & Brand Marketing), Christy Bellina (Vice President, Brand Marketing), Ellie Duque (Sales Director, Entertainment Category), Marnie Perez (Vice President, Communications)

Photograph by MEREDITH JENKS

SET DESIGN: KRISTINA KITCHEN/ZENOBIA

Watch our video special on the secrets of Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, available Dec. 1 on PeopleTV. Go to peopletv.com, or download the PeopleTV app on your favorite mobile or connected TV device.

PRODUCTION Aislinn Nagel (Production Director), Gretchen Weber (Senior Production Manager), Anna Gaynor (Assistant Production Manager), Suzanne Reiersen (Positioning Manager), Gabriella Curcio (Operations Manager), Mohan Kumar (Ad Production Specialist)

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REY’S RECKONING

Writer-director Rian Johnson says the encounter between young heroine Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) echoes Luke’s apprenticeship to Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back: “Rey is off on a deserted planet with a master, and you assume there will be training.” But this movie is “continuing the bigger story.”

THE LAST JEDI Rey grapples with her destiny, Luke Skywalker returns, and the cast and crew have one promise for fans: This is not going to go the way you think

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

RISKING IT ALL Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) and Finn (John Boyega) visit gambling city Canto Bight. “There’s so much money in this place because people are making a killing selling weapons to the different factions,” production designer Rick Heinrichs says.

“

The city of Canto Bight expands the Star Wars universe. It shows more nuanced factions than the Resistance and the First Order” —PRODUCTION DESIGNER RICK HEINRICHS

LAUGH IT UP, FUZZBALL Chewbacca’s mask has similar mechanisms to the ’70s version, says actor Joonas Suotamo: “When I open my mouth, coils pull the lips into a snarl. Some people say it looks CG. I assure you, it’s not.” DRESSED FOR BATTLE “Rey begins in the new costume from the very end of Episode VII,” says costume designer Michael Kaplan. “Then there are some changes that are story-driven with slightly more warrior garb or Jedi garb.”

JUST A CRAZY OLD MAN? “Luke had been described with flowing white hair and a beard, but he’d only be in his 50s, so it’s not like Methuselah,” Hamill says. Instead of wigs, he suggested, “Why don’t we just grow out my beard? You’ll see how much gray I have.”

“

The whole idea with these movies is to try to keep it fresh and give the audience something they’ve never seen before. We’ve certainly done that” —MARK HAMILL

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

A LITTLE TALL FOR A STORMTROOPER Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) still towers above the troopers, who now have a tweaked helmet. “The first change Rian wanted was with the stormtroopers,” costume designer Kaplan says. “He wanted an expression he had seen in the original faces. We got that back for him.”

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

“

We wanted that feel of a world people were used to. At the same time, we had to take it into new places” —PRODUCTION DESIGNER RICK HEINRICHS

“

There are a few key scenes where you’re like, ‘If this doesn’t work, the movie doesn’t work’ ” —WRITER-DIRECTOR RIAN JOHNSON

A ROYAL RETURN Carrie Fisher’s turn as princess-turned-general Leia Organa would be her last. Director Johnson treasured working with her: “Everything that you’ve imagined she’d be, that’s how she was.”

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

FAMILY HEIRLOOM For the passing of the lightsaber between Luke and Rey, Luke’s mechanical hand was digitally inserted over Hamill’s real one. “It’s gold dust for us to have something to represent [the digital effect] in the shot,” says visualeffects supervisor Ben Morris. “We can see what to focus on.”

REVENGE ON THE JEDI This scene seems to show Kylo Ren’s destruction of Luke’s Jedi academy, referenced in The Force Awakens. But Johnson says don’t expect actual time travel, which was central to his movie Looper. “What Star Wars needs is very, very, very different from what Looper needed.”

REAL-LIFE LIGHTSABERS “We actually have LED tubes,” effects supervisor Morris says. When a character like Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) “brings a saber close to their face, you see a natural interactive lighting. When the sabers hit, that emits light through practical stunt props. It’s really subtle things to make them even more believable.”

GOING APE FOR THE NEW AT-ATS To update the classic Imperial Walkers, “the idea of a gorilla came up—big knuckles that can smash on the ground, mandibles coming down out of the mouth,” Morris says. “We pushed a character into the original design.”

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

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I’m most excited about what people are not even aware of yet. It’s unexpected where this movie goes and how” —PRODUCER RAM BERGMAN

THE BADDEST BODYGUARDS “I’m very excited about seeing the Praetorian Guards in action,” says costume designer Kaplan of the new elite protectors surrounding Snoke. “They move so well.”

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

ALL ABOUT STARS

THE

The cast of the new trilogy— joined by some fresh faces— heads back into battle in The Last Jedi. They dish on their characters’ story lines, behind-thescenes secrets and how their lives have changed

9 | Laura Dern as Vice Admiral Holdo 10 | Benicio Del Toro as DJ 11 | Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma 12 | Daisy Ridley as Rey

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

Photograph by KOURY ANGELO

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PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

MARK

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

Photographs by KOURY ANGELO

After more than 30 years, Luke Skywalker is back at the center of the Star Wars saga. Why his new path surprised even Hamill

THE LOST JEDI After a long time away, Luke and Hamill are both returning to center stage for The Last Jedi. “This is a time I certainly didn’t expect to be on the radar,” Hamill says. “The fame was fun, but anonymity’s fun too.”

THE YOUNGLINGS Hamill is passing the legacy to Star Wars’ next generation, including John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Kelly Marie Tran. “They’re all babies!” he says.

“

I’m happy they made VII, VIII and IX. But I’d be just as happy in the audience” —MARK HAMILL

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ABOUT THAT ENDING . . . The Last Jedi picks up where The Force Awakens left off— with Rey meeting Luke on a remote planet. “I didn’t know I’d be a literal cliff-hanger, actually standing on a cliff,” says Hamill, who had expected a larger role in Awakens, not a wordless cameo, based on early sketches: “Luke in scuba gear with Rey, discovering the underwater remains of the destroyed Death Star—there were all these situations.”

After 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, Mark Hamill made the cover of People with the headline “He’s turning 30 and eager for a new life after Luke Skywalker.” Yet at 66, this Jedi has returned—with Luke again central to the saga. What happened? DECADES ON THE DARK SIDE

FEELING THE FORCE 1. Fresh from the TV pilot for Eight Is Enough, Hamill was cast as Luke Skywalker in 1977’s Star Wars: “I was trying to figure out, ‘Why did I get this part?’” 2. He soon saw how the cast fit together. “Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, all of us were so close to what George Lucas wanted in the character,” Hamill says. “I was naive, young, optimistic.” 3. With Fisher shooting the final scene of Empire.

After the ﬁrst three Star Wars movies, Hamill went into hiding in the outer rim of show business, a.k.a. Broadway and voice-overs. In 1992 he debuted as the voice of the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series. “The villain is usually one of the more interesting characters because they create the conﬂict, they create the chaos. Is there an antagonist that’s more legendary than the Joker?” Hamill asks. Umm, Darth Vader? “Yeah, yeah,” he says dismissively. FROM NEW HOPE TO NO HOPE?

Hamill says he argued with writerdirector Rian Johnson about Luke’s destiny in The Last Jedi. “Luke says, ‘It’s time for the Jedi to end.’ This comes from the most optimistic character in the original trilogy,”

Hamill says. “I was stunned!” But by the time shooting started, there was no conﬂict. “We bonded over this whole experience of talking about the script,” Johnson says. “Then Mark was like, ‘Okay, now I trust you. Now you direct me.’” BRINGING BALANCE TO THE FORCE

At the end of that People cover story, Hamill said, “I am so much like Luke Skywalker. I guess I always will be.” Today he still agrees with that, joking: “Yes, I’m old, bitter and reclusive, just like Luke.” When he once told Carrie Fisher, who was like a real-life sister to him, that he was listing himself in Broadway Playbills as “known for a series of space movies,” she taught him to embrace his destiny. “She said, ‘Look, I am Princess Leia. You are Luke. Get over it.’ She was able to cut to the quick and see the positives. I learned so much from her.”

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Ridley returns as Reyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;discovering her power with a new mentor by her side

DAISY

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

Photographs by KOURY ANGELO

PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER “I think you could go through an entire lifetime of working as an actor and not be recognized as part of one specific thing,” says Ridley. “To be recognized as a part of this franchise— it’s amazing.”

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

“

1 A NEW ADVENTURE Rey’s ride? The venerable Millennium Falcon, of course.

The island acts as a nice resting place for Rey to gather all of her thoughts” —DAISY RIDLEY

FEELS LIKE FAMILY “I’m very lucky to be surrounded by people I genuinely love,” says Ridley (with Hamill).

A STAR IS BORN 1. The Last Jedi picks up with Rey meeting Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker on a deserted island—but the introduction doesn’t quite go as planned. “She’s greeted not so warmly by Luke. There’s obviously a little bit of work to be done for an unexpected visitor to be [encroaching] on someone’s private space,” says Ridley. “She’s gone there for reasons he isn’t aware of. It will take a little bit of work and a little bit of trust, then it becomes a wonderful, emotional story.” 2. Ridley also starred with Kenneth Branagh in this year’s Murder on the Orient Express. 3. In Oscar de la Renta at the 2017 Met Gala. “My life is different, but that’s my normal,” she says of her newfound fame. 4. After wrapping The Last Jedi, Ridley got a special present from the crew. “I was given a lightsaber,” she says. “I had it on my bookshelf, but now it’s in a very safe place.”

Daisy Ridley is the ﬁrst to admit that she has a lot to be thankful for. “I will always attribute 90 percent of life to J.J. Abrams,” the British actress, 25, says of The Force Awakens’ director. “I e-mail him regularly saying, “By the way, thanks again.” Because he was the guy that cast me in the beginning.” Now she’s back as Rey, learning about herself and preparing to take on the Empire. FINDING HER PATH

After taking down Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens, Rey is taking some much-needed time for herself. On the remote island where she meets Luke Skywalker, she can “ask some questions and sort of get in touch with how she’s feeling,” says Ridley. “Everything’s been other people asking her to do stuff, and it’s been up to her to get to grips with what she wants.” BECOMING A ROLE MODEL

“I think that’s my favorite part,” says Ridley of meeting young girls dressed as Rey. “It’s amazing to be able to embody someone people look up to. I feel now more of a sense of responsibility. It still surprises me, but oh my God, it’s so cute.” FEELING HER STRENGTH

“Picking up a lightsaber and doing the ﬁght, I knew how much further I could go,” says Ridley of returning to training for The Last Jedi. “I could feel it in my body. I really pushed my stamina, so I was able to do more than I had thought—it was the best feeling.”

FAST TRACK TO FAME “Star Wars catapults you into stardom in a very unique way,” says Boyega.

JOHN

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

Photograph by KOURY ANGELO

The rising star returns as charismatic former stormtrooper Finn, trying to ďŹ nd his place in the midst of intergalactic conďŹ&#x201A;ict

Photograph by MEREDITH JENKS

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Boyega, 25, insists his life hasn’t changed that much since starring in a billion-dollar box office hit—except for appearing in front of thousands of screaming fans every once in a while. “That was not something I was doing before Star Wars,” he says.

THE STAKES ARE HIGHER FOR FINN

“We meet Finn at a point in Episode VIII, where he needs to decide where he belongs,” Boyega says of his stormtrooper turned Resistance ﬁghter. “The Resistance are under pressure, the First Order are in retaliation mode, and they’re ﬁghting back with everything they’ve got.”

HE HAS MASTERED AN A M E R I C A N A C C E N T— M O S T LY

The London-born actor says he hasn’t had any trouble with Finn’s American accent, except one thing. “It hurts my throat because you guys just slur over all your words,” he says with a laugh. He admits he was ﬂummoxed by one high-tech term: “Biohexacrypt. I had to say that a few times; it’s just confusing,” he says. “Rian, don’t ever let me say that again. It’s going to be in the bloopers for sure.” HIS NEW FAME HASN’T CHANGED HIM

“I’ve still got my family and my same old friends,” he says. “But when you do walk the streets, you get a few people that will recognize you.” 30

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

A VERSATILE STAR 1. Boyega takes on another action franchise with next year’s Pacific Rim Uprising, playing the son of Idris Elba’s character from the first movie and teaming up with Scott Eastwood. 2. He earned critical acclaim for this year’s Detroit, about police brutality in 1967. The movie was “my chance to kind of get out of the Star Wars umbrella and do something that is quite epic in another format,” he says.

FULL SPEED AHEAD “His emotions are kind of against the clock now, and it’s a very vital moment for him,” Boyega says of Finn.

“

This whole experience has been amazing. It’s a ride and it’s a rush, but it never gets old” —JOHN BOYEGA

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PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

TRAN

KELLY MARIE

FEELING THE IMPACT One of the newest faces to join the Star Wars universe, Tran is not taking the job lightly. “You just want to do the whole thing justice,” she says. “It feels like a huge honor because so many people love it. I don’t think I’ll ever stop being thankful.”

A newcomer to Star Wars— and the big screen—she plays a pivotal role as Rose Tico, a Resistance maintenance worker

Photographs by MEREDITH JENKS

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

“

Rose has an unlikely hero’s journey. She gets pulled into this adventure—and off it goes” —KELLY MARIE TRAN

After appearing in commercials, CollegeHumor skits and TV guest roles, Tran, 28, was ready to hit the big screen—and boy, did she ever. The San Diego native joins the Star Wars saga as Resistance maintenance worker Rose Tico—but it still hasn’t fully sunk in that she’s part of the most famous ﬁlm franchises in the world. “It has not really hit me yet,” she says. “I still feel like this is a dream, like a long, really cool dream.”

R O S E I S A N ‘ U N L I K E LY H E R O ’

Fans were ﬁrst introduced to Tran’s character Rose at Star Wars Celebration in April. Like many of the franchise’s most beloved characters, Rose “has an unlikely hero’s journey,” Tran says. “She gets pulled into this adventure—and off it goes.” SHE’S NEW TO FANDOM

“I wasn’t a big fan to begin with,” she says of the saga. “I obviously was aware of it and knew it was this big, amazing thing, but then once I got on this project I binge-watched all the movies. It’s so contagious.” g Now “when you’re in a room m with all of the fans, you can’t ’t help but love it even more. I view it very differently than an I did before.” KEEPING THE SECRET WAS N ’ T E ASY

After she was cast, “I lied hard. ard. I committed. I said I was in Canada working on an indiee movie. I even bought maplee syrup to give to people to cononvince them I’d really been to o Canada.” Once she could reveal eveal the big news, Tran’s friendss and family were shocked. “My friends couldn’t believe it. I don’t think anyone can believe it!” !” 34

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

JOINING THE FAMILY 1. Rose goes from everyday maintenance worker to the newest member of the Rebellion after a chance meeting with John Boyega’s Finn. 2. Tran (posing with her action figures on Instagram) says she is still marveling at the idea of being part of the Star Wars universe. “I just feel so much love for all of the energy and all of the positivity. To be part of something this significant is an honor. It’s just out of this world.” 3. Tran and Boyega developed a close friendship. “If I was stranded on another planet, I’d pick John to be with me,” she says. “Just because he would make me laugh the whole time. He’s so funny!” 4. Tran and Boyega goofing off at Star Wars Celebration.

JOINING HIS HEROES “I remember loving Han Solo and his relationship with Chewbacca,” Del Toro recalls of seeing Star Wars as a boy.

BENICIO

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

Which side is he on? His own. The Oscar winner joins the saga as an enigmatic and unscrupulous codebreaker

Photographs by KOURY ANGELO PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

He’s known for his edgy movie roles, but Del Toro, 51, is also a longtime Star Wars fan who was delighted to be asked to join the cast. Getting the offer “was kind of offbeat,” he says. His mysterious character, DJ, is a shady codebreaker who becomes part of Finn and Rose’s mission to the gambling city of Canto Bight. “It was fun to work with stormtroopers all around you,” the Oscar winner says. “And scary!” MEETING THE ROYALS

Working in London had its perks. “The royal family came to visit. William and Harry showed up, and I’d never met them before,” Del Toro says. Even more amazing for the actor was that “most of the stuff you see isn’t CGI, it was man-made. It was also shot on ﬁlm, so seeing the camera and the oldschool ﬁlm magazine was really cool. That crew is like a well-oiled wheel.” IMPRESSING HIS DAUGHTER’S FRIENDS

“My daughter [Delilah, with ex Kimberly Stewart] is 6, and the kids in her class talk about it. They say, ‘Your dad is going to be in Star Wars?!’” Del Toro says. “And then I have 80-yearolds who come up to me and say, ‘I can’t wait to see the ﬁlm!’ It just runs the whole gamut all over the world. That’s the power of these movies.” A ROLE HE’LL REMEMBER

Having ﬁrst seen Star Wars as a kid in Puerto Rico, Del Toro says starring in the series makes him feel “a little like Back to the Future.” As for how this will compare to the other movies on his impressive résumé, the acting veteran says, “It’s got the potential of ranking up there with some of the coolest stuff I’ve ever done. I can’t wait to see it—truly it was such a good script. It could be up on the shelf where the cool stuff is for sure.” Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

GOOD OR EVIL? “I don’t know if he’s a villain,” Del Toro told Entertainment Weekly of DJ. “People are saying that, but it’s like they read a different script than I read.”

“

Seeing the ﬁrst Star Wars probably had something to do with me being in movies, indirectly or directly”

—BENICIO DEL TORO

3 THE CHAMELEON 1. Del Toro made his character Fred Fenster in the 1995 film The Usual Suspects memorable by mumbling lines in an indecipherable accent. 2. He won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for 2000’s Traffic. 3. He’s also a Marvel villain, making appearances in three movies, including 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, as the Collector.

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

LAURA

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

After winning an Emmy for Big Little Lies, the star extends her hot streak as Resistance leader Vice Admiral Holdo

Photographs by KOURY ANGELO

FANGIRL AT HEART Dern admits she had a few geek-out moments on-set. “I was supposed to be reciting my dialogue while the camera was rolling, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Chewbacca and started crying.”

LIVING UP TO A LEGACY “It’s rare as an actor that you get to read something and see the whole film play out in your mind,” she says. “This kind of storytelling and what George Lucas tapped into is so extraordinary. ” Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

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“

When you’ve participated in making a character that touches people and will live on through generations, that is an amazing thing” —LAURA —LAU —L AURA RA D DERN ERN ER N

A WINNING CAREER 1. With Sam Neill in 1993’s megahit Jurassic Park. 2. With Reese Witherspoon this September after taking home Emmys for the HBO hit Big Little Lies. Dern won Best Supporting Actress, and the show won Outstanding Limited Series. 3. As Diane in Showtime’s Twin Peaks revival. “As an actor, you dream of an opportunity to play incredibly different characters,” she says. “It’s a dream come true. I feel like I’m really ready to be an actor now.” 4. The secondgeneration star with her father, veteran actor Bruce Dern.

Walking into Lucasﬁlm president Kathleen Kennedy’s office to discuss a potential role in The Last Jedi gave Dern, 50, a bit of déjà vu. “As you enter her office, there is a raptor in a case I had met the ﬁrst time I worked with Kathy,” says Dern, who starred in 1993’s Jurassic Park. “I just thought it was kind of auspicious and hilarious to be staring into the eyes of the raptor as I was reading Star Wars!” A NEW RESISTANCE LEADER

Dern’s character is one of the most mysterious of the newcomers—and she isn’t giving up any secrets. “I am allowed to tell you that I arrived to shake up the Resistance,” she says. “And I can tell you that my hair is a fantastic color!” EARNING COOL POINTS

“My kids were so impressed, and I used it in every way I could,” she says. “My daughter [Jaya, 13] loves female superheroes, so she has this extraordinary legacy of Leia, but she also has Rey and what that means to young girls now. My son [Ellery, 16] grew up watching Star Wars, so for them to have their mom be part of that is amazing.” SHE’S A LONGTIME FAN

Dern saw the first Star Wars film with her mom, Diane Ladd, when she was 7. “It was the first movie I ever waited hours in line to see. I went right back to my room with a flashlight and tinfoil to make a lightsaber and pretended I was Princess Leia.”

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Driver, 34, says that Kylo Ren’s tortured family history tugs at his heart—in a good way. “There’s big personal things that I ﬁnd about every character, not just in Star Wars, that you have to make as personal as possible,” he told Vanity Fair. “It’s the big joke about being an actor, that you make everything you’re doing seem like it’s life or death.” KYLO IS STILL UP TO NO GOOD

The patricidal son of Han Solo and Princess Leia takes an even darker turn under the tutelage of the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke, played by Andy Serkis. “The relationship that [Snoke] has as the tutor of Kylo Ren is sort of psychotically aggressive,” Serkis says. “There’s this whole manipulation between General Hux [Domhnall Gleeson] and Adam. He pits them against each other as a kind of cruel way of goading Kylo Ren into action.” HE DID NOT LIKE KILLING HAN

Watching that fateful scene at the Force Awakens premiere, “I thought I was going to puke,” Driver told GQ U.K. “I was holding my wife [Joanne Tucker]’s hand, and she’s like, ‘You’re really cold. Are you okay?’ Because I just knew what was coming—I kill Harrison Ford—and I didn’t know how this audience of 2,000 people was going to respond.”

ADAM

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

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SPACE INVADER An expert pilot like his father, Han Solo, Kylo Ren battles the Resistance with his deadly TIE silencer— an advanced fighter with laser cannons.

“

The things about [Kylo Ren] that I ﬁnd painful, that I really relate to, I kind of prefer to keep to myself”

—ADAM DRIVER to Vanity Fair

BREAKING BAD 1. “The person Kylo’s pretending to be on the outside is not who he is,” Driver told GQ U.K. “He’s a vulnerable kid who doesn’t know where to put his energy.” 2. Ren will encounter Rey again after their climactic battle in The Force Awakens. 3. The California native, who served in the Marines before becoming an actor, greeted fans at the Force Awakens premiere in 2015. 4. In his breakout role on HBO’s hit series Girls with Lena Dunham (bottom right). 5. With wife Joanne Tucker, whom he wed in 2013.

The actor or explores the dark sside ide as Han and Leia’s a’s tormented ed son Kylo R Ren en

5 PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

A BREAK FROM REALITY “In a time when the world is more chaotic and complex than ever before, I think these films provide us with a moment of much-needed escapism,” she says.

Photograph by KOURY ANGELO

GWENDOLINE

She returns urns more powerful erful than ever er as stormtrooper oper commander nder Captain Phasma sma

“

The dark side has very little humanity and empathy. I’m looking forward to seeing the human [in Phasma]” —GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE

ALL ALL-AROUND A LL-AR -A A OUN ND WARRIOR W WAR RIOR R 1. Ph Phasma ffaces off ff against John Boyega’s Finn. “Captain Phasma is involved in these epic moments of drama,” says Christie, adding that Phasma is equipped with a new weapon. “That’s always a very exciting process to prepare for.” 2. On Game of Thrones—whose fans aren’t quite as overthe-top, she says: “People reach an apoplectic state of ecstasy when it comes to Star Wars.” 3. On the Sundance series Top of the Lake: China Girl. l

Christie, 39, turned off all the lights before she sat down to watch the first trailer for The Last Jedi. “You’re entering back into something familiar, but it takes you on an epic journey outside of your life,” she says. The English actress, who gained fame as Game of Thrones knight Brienne of Tarth, got that same thrill when she put on her helmet as stormtrooper boss Captain h Phasma for the first day of filming: P ““It felt like coming home.” A DEEPER SIDE TO THE QUEEN OF MEAN

“We see the continuation of the seeds “W sown in The Force Awakens,” she says, so noting that fans might discover a no “deeper” “d dee eepe perr ssid side idee to P Pha Phasma hasm smaa in the new movie. movi mo m vie. e. “We “We ssta start tart rt tto o se seee m more of the characters’ ch har arac acte ters rs’’ essence esse es senc ncee and and more of what it is is th that at d dri drives rive vess th them them.” em.” .” N E W, I M P R O V E D A R M O R

“It was “It was redesigned rede re desi sign gned ed and and made m for movement,” move mo m veme ment nt,” ,” ssay says ayss Ch Chri Christie, ri who stands stan st ands ds 6'3". 6'3 6 '3". ". “It “It has has been completely plet pl etel elyy ma made made-to-measure de-t -toofor me,, an me and d ev ever every eryy pa part of my body, body bo dy,, to make mak m akee it as flexible as possible.” poss po ssib ible le.” .” C Chr Christie hrii says the improvement impr im prov ovem emen entt is evident in fi figh fight ghtt sc scenes. scen enee “Plus, it’s shinier shin sh inie ierr than than ever!”

PEOPL PE PEOPLE OPLE E Star Wars: The Last Jedi

JUST ONE REGRET . . . Gleeson’s only complaint? “I was really sad I didn’t get to shoot in Ireland,” says the Dublin native, whose dad is acclaimed actor Brendan Gleeson.

DOMHNALL

The Irish actor promises some ‘twists’ for villain General Hux

COMMANDIN COMMANDING COMMAN DING G PRESENCE PRESEN PRE SENCE CE “The sets are so big,” notes Gleeson. Above: a First Order Star Destroyer.

When the cast and crew of The Last Jedi reconvened, Domhnall Gleeson, 34, who plays First Order leader General Hux, says, “There was a feeling of conﬁdence and excitement, and we were really happy to see everybody else again.” Any apprehension at changing directors from The Force Awakens’ J.J. Abrams to Rian Johnson quickly disappeared. “My very ﬁrst day on-set, it was like, ‘Oh my God, he’s amazing,’” says Gleeson.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

PLAYING GOOD AND EVIL 1. Gleeson says he’d love to keep Hux’s jacket—but “it’s on lockdown.” 2. He played Bill Weasley in the Harry Potter movies. 3. Another highlight in his eclectic career: 2015’s Brooklyn, with Saoirse Ronan.

“I was really surprised by some of the tone and some of the twists,” says Gleeson cryptically. “I was surprised by some of the stuff with Hux. But it really makes sense. And I’m glad that we’re changing the look, you know, about the feel of the ﬁlm.” IT WAS THE RESISTANCE VS. THE FIRST ORDER BETWEEN TAKES

“There was a table-tennis table,” says Gleeson. “Oscar [Isaac] and Adam [Driver] played. That got competitive. I decided not to get involved in that. I ﬁgured that the First Order were ably represented by Adam. John [Boyega] was a cheerleader for a second.”

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

OSCAR

With his trusty droid by his side, Isaac suits up again as elite Resistance pilot Poe Dameron

TOP GUN Dameron flies a souped-up version of the X-wing fighter as part of the Starfighter Corps. His call sign is Black Leader.

Playing Resistance leader Poe Dameron, Isaac shares scenes with Carrie Fisher and her daughter Billie Lourd. “I would always love watching Billie and Carrie together,” says Isaac, 38. “They were so funny and so synced-up on the same wavelength.”

“Poe is in a tough situation in The Last Jedi,” says Isaac. “He’s under the new leadership of Admiral Holdo, played by the magniﬁcent Laura Dern. And he’s having a real hard time trusting that her strategy is going to save the Resistance.” GENERAL LEIA ORGANA ALSO HAS PLANS FOR POE

Isaac says this could all be part of a master plan. “Leia is trying to groom him into the leader she believes he could be,” he says. “Sometimes the most heroic thing you can do is stop and think about the greater picture, what is best for the entire Resistance and not just the moment at hand.”

POE DAMERON WILL STRUGGLE WITH NEW LEADERSHIP IN THE RESISTANCE

THE GOOD FIGHT 1. Isaac was excited to strap on Dameron’s fighter-pilot gear for The Last Jedi. “The jitters never go away on a Star Wars set, but it was great to come back and explore the character of Poe again, this time with Rian’s brilliant script and great direction,” he says. 2. After spending most of The Force Awakens apart, Poe and BB-8 reunite for Jedi, a partnership echoing Luke Skywalker and R2-D2’s. 3. Fans have embraced the hero pilot. “Sometimes they give me homemade Poe figures or drawings, and I always love that,” says Isaac.

HE’S BACK WITH HIS BUDDY!

“Well, how can they keep Poe and BB-8 away from each other?” says Isaac.

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

WHAT HAVE WE HERE?

PORGS!

These scene-stealers, inquisitive avians who live on Luke’s planet, popped out of the mind of writerdirector Rian Johnson. “I think he could somehow see them, because he was so very descriptive,” says creature supervisor Neal Scanlan, who hatched the design. “The idea was they’re sort of puffins, crossed with seals, crossed with sort of maybe a pug dog.”

AN EGG ON LEGS

“We had this beautiful design of sort of an egg on two legs with these big eyes, and that was it,” Scanlan says. “Immediately Rian connected with that.” Porg babies are called— THE GALAXY’S yes—porglets. 2

CUTEST NEW STARS 1. The Last Jedi’s first breakout characters stand about 10 in. tall. 2. Scanlan with puppet Porgs, inspired by the puffins of the Irish island of Skellig Michael. 3. “In this picture of Chewie and a porg, I think everyone will go, ‘Oh, look how cute Chewie is!’” says a not-at-all-jealous Joonas Suotamo, who plays Chewbacca. 4. Porg concept art by Jake Lunt Davies.

“

Porgs are now everywhere. I can’t stop it, so I must go with it” —CHEWBACCA ACTOR JOONAS SUOTAMO

ANDY

SERKIS

ULTIMATE EVIL

The motion-capture vvirtuoso returns as the CGI Dark Side leader. “There’s a frailty and a damage to Snoke,” says Serkis, 53. “His face is cleaved in, scars across his mouth, contorted body. But without giving too much away, he is strong. He is the dark end of the Force. He’s

“The mystery of this character [Supreme Leader Snoke, above] is something the directors and I thought best to keep to ourselves,” Serkis says.

the leader of the First Order, but he has his own agenda. He’s a cruel manipulator.” DARKER THAN DARTH

Is Snoke more powerful than Darth Vader and the Emperor? “Oh, without question. He has limitless resources, let’s put it that way.”

LUPITA

NYONG’O SMALL BUT MIGHTY

MEET THE NEW

CHEWIE! JOONAS SUOTAMO AGE: 31 HEIGHT: 7 ft.

The walking carpet can now dunk. This Finnish basketball player helped play Chewbacca in Force Awakens, running and blasting under the hot mask while original actor Peter Mayhew, now 73, did the cockpit-sitting. In The Last Jedi and the upcoming Han Solo film, Suotamo takes over as Chewie, who’s as virile as ever. “Wookiees live to be 400 years old,” Suotamo says. “Think about your uncle aging, like, six years. Has he gotten much grayer?”

Nyong’o’s ancient alien Maz Kanata gets less screen time in The Last Jedi—but her insights into the past are as vital as in The Force Awakens. “It’s a really fun part, and Lupita is so awesome,” director Rian Johnson told Entertainment Weekly of the 12 Years a Slave Oscar winner, 34. “I’m just happy I got to work with her. I feel like I got such an incredible education watching Lupita work.”

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ©2017 LUCASFILM LTD.; ED MILLER/©2017 LUCASFILM LTD.; INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC/LUCASFILM; DAVID JAMES/©2017 LUCASFILM LTD.; FRANK TRAPPER/CORBIS/GETTY IMAGES; MATTHIAS CLAMER/CONTOUR BY GETTY IMAGES; ©2017 LUCASFILM LTD.; DAVID JAMES/©2017 LUCASFILM LTD; INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC/LUCASFILM LTD.; ©2017 LUCASFILM LTD.; JONATHAN OLLEY/©2017LUCASFILM LTD.

Maz Kanata, a motion-capture character, is a pirate who once owned a castle that hosted smugglers.

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

LOU LOURD BILLIE

LEIA’S LEGACY LIVES ON Reprising her role as Lieutenant Kaydel Ko Connix, the young actress stars onscreen with her beloved mother one last time

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

FAMILY BOND Working with her mom (on the Force Awakens set) was “trippy,” Lourd said before Fisher’s death. “But we’re watching each other. And we’re still being motherdaughter, even though it’s like, actressactress.”

After her mother’s death from cardiac arrest at age 60 last December, Lourd, 25, found strength in the love and support of the Star Wars universe. “She taught me by her own example, that the most evolved person is seemingly a contradiction—they are both the strongest and the most vulnerable person in the room,” Lourd said in April. “And that was her. That is Leia.” YOUNG PADAWAN

When she watched Star Wars for the first time, “I noticed my mom was one of the most confident characters in the entire film,” Lourd told People in 2015. “On special occasions I would make her get in a lightsaber fight with me. Let’s just say the more trained Jedi usually won.” COURAGE IN TRUTH

Lourd was especially proud of her mother as she battled bipolar disorder and drug addictions. “I know my mom,” she told People shortly after Fisher died. “She’d want her death to encourage people to be open about their struggles.”

“

[My mom] made me realize women are just as powerful as men and that we can truly do anything they can” —BILLIE LOURD Photographs by MEREDITH JENKS

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

A SHOW OF FORCE A few months after Fisher’s death, Lourd paid homage to her mom’s iconic costume by wearing a dress she collaborated on with designer Tom Ford. “My mom, like Leia, wasn’t ever afraid to speak her mind,” she said.

REMEMBERING CARRIE As Fisher makes her ﬁnal onscreen appearance as Leia, her costars and friends reﬂect on a life well-lived. MARK HAMILL

“It’s funny because, in many ways, the brothersister thing felt kind of real. Carrie and I had a comfort level with one another. It’s very difficult for me to accept her in the past tense.”

“My son [Ellery] visited, and she marched up to him and said, ‘Hey! How old are you?’ And he said, ‘14.’ And she said, ‘Well, how old do you want to be?’ And then he said, ‘16.’ And she goes, ‘Yeah, me too, kid.’ And that was just so Carrie.” JOHN BOYEGA

“I was on a strict diet during Episode VIII, and she was like, ‘Kid, get into that fridge and take some chocolate bars. I have many there.’ And I did. I failed my diet because Carrie Fisher told me to. And it [felt] great.”

“

My mom used to say she never knew where Princess Leia ended and Carrie Fisher began” —BILLIE LOURD 56

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

LAURA DERN

LEIA’S LOVE Fisher (left, on-set and below, with Lourd at the Force Awakens premiere in ’15) “was imperfect in many ways, but her imperfections and willingness to speak about them are what made her more than perfect,” Lourd said.

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

BECOMING LEIA 1. “I was was full full of energy,” energy ene rgy,” ,” Hamill Hamill Hami ll says says of the original cast. “Harrison was wry and cynical. Carrie was Hollywood royalty and a takecharge kind of woman. She really led the way. I learned so much from her—I’ll never stop missing her.” 2. Fisher instantly bonded with actor Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca in five of the films. 3. “I felt so privileged to know her and be around her,” says Laura Dern of Fisher. “But to be around her in the context of her invention of Leia was a great honor and something I will hold forever.” 4. “She loved puns and wordplay and jokes,” says Johnson of Fisher (playing around with stormtroopers).

“

Everyone feels like they’ve lost a member of the family, whether they knew her or not” —MARK HAMILL

“

We didn’t know it was going to be the last time we saw Leia in these movies” —RIAN JOHNSON

A LASTING LEGACY 5. “She’s a lot more elegant, more queenly than we last saw her,” says costume designer Michael Kaplan of Fisher as Leia. “Last time she was much more in work clothes and a jumpsuit throughout most of the film. Now she’s a lot more regal.” 6. When Fisher and Daisy Ridley first met, “we were all at dinner, and she started commentating the whole process,” says Ridley. “I was like, ‘Ah, brilliant.’ ” 7. Fisher (on the set of Empire Strikes Back) “was so funny and so lovely to be around,” says Domnhall Gleeson. “I just can’t believe she’s gone.” 8. “I find it very powerful when I see her in this film,” says Rian Johnson of Fisher. “She just did beautiful work in it.”

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

WARWICK DAVIS Wicket

BILLY DEE WILLIAMS

BILLIE LOURD

Lando Calrissian

daughter of the late Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia

HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN Anakin Skywalker

“

When I was 11, George Lucas gave me the opportunity to go to that galaxy far, far away and meet my heroes”

DAVE FILONI

animation director

—WARWICK DAVIS

THE FIRST Celebrating 40 years of Star Wars, franchise legends reunited this spring, posing for People at Star Wars Celebration in Orlando

JOHN WILLIAMS composer

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: LUCASFILM/KOBAL/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK; ©LUCASFILM LTD.; LUCASFILM/KOBAL/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK(3); EVERETT; DAVID JAMES/©2015 LUCASFILM; WENN; LUCASFILM/FOX/KOBAL/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK; MEREDITH JENKS/DISNEY

MARK HAMILL

Luke Skywalker

HARRISON FORD Han Solo

ANTHONY DANIELS C-3PO

PETER MAYHEW Chewbacca

IAN M C DIARMID

Emperor Palpatine

JEDI GEORGE LUCAS

creator, writer, director

KATHLEEN KENNEDY Lucasfilm president

AN ENDURING UNIVERSE In honor of the original 1977 Star Wars, stars of past episodes joined creator George Lucas, who shared his vision of the values the series stands for: “Friendships, honesty, trust, living on the light side, avoiding the dark side.” PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

HAVING A BALL BB-8 is “pivotal” in The Last Jedi, says Brian Herring, copuppeteer with Dave Chapman. The secret to the droid’s runaway appeal? “The design is so good that you can actually emote with it,” Herring says. “We thought he was going to be popular, but I don’t think we were quite ready for the sheer amount of craziness that BB-8 created.”

THE DROIDS

SET DESIGN KRISTINA KITCHEN/ZENOBIA; CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC/LUCASFILM; ED MILLER /©2017 LUCASFILM LTD.; JONATHAN OLLEY/©2017 LUCASFILM LTD.; ED MILLER /©2017 LUCASFILM LTD.(2); © 2017 LUCASFILM LTD.

ON A

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

Photograph by MEREDITH JENKS

BEEN THROUGH A LOT TOGETHER 1. Several versions of BB-8 were used onset, inlcuding puppets and a working robot. 2. Copiloting an X-wing. 3. The malevolent new BB-9E, nicknamed BB-H8 (Hate) sports a look that “echoes ’50s automobiles but with a bit of evilness,” says creature supervisor Neal Scanlan. 4. BB-8 puppeteers Dave Chapman and Brian Herring. 5. C-3PO and R2-D2 are 8-for-8, appearing in every episode. “This started as a 12-week job,” says Anthony Daniels, who first squeezed into C-3PO’s metal body in 1976. “It used to take half an hour to put the head on. Now it’s eight seconds!”

“

I absolutely adore BB-8. He’s totally my favorite. You’ve got to admire the cleverness of the design” —ANTHONY DANIELS (C-3PO) 2

ROLL! 5

Rotund fan favorite BB-8 returns— but watch out for less rival llovable ov BB-9E B B 4

—CREATURE SUPERVISOR NEAL SCANLAN

OUT OF THIS

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: JOHN WILSON/©2017 LUCASFILM LTD.; ED MILLER/©2017 LUCASFILM LTD.; JONATHAN OLLEY /©2017LUCASFILM LTD.(2); DAVID JAMES/©2017 LUCASFILM LTD.; JOHN WILSON/©2017 LUCASFILM LTD.; DAVID JAMES/©2017 LUCASFILM LTD.; ED MILLER/©2017 LUCASFILM LTD.

2 1

We have a unique visualeffects language from George Lucas. That’s something we try to hold on to”

“ THE CREATURES

HAMMERHEAD WOULD BE PROUD 1. Gamblers in the city of Canto Bight are an homage to the first Star Wars but also an evolution. “We love the legacy characters,” says creature supervisor Neal Scanlan. “But this is exciting new territory.” 2. The nunlike Caretakers live on Luke’s new world. 3. Scanlan says writer-director Rian Johnson was “very actively involved” in designing the space racehorses called fathiers. 4. C’ai Threnalli, Poe Dameron’s wingman. 5. Casino guests. 6. The casino scene involved 600 extras, requiring an army of 95 hair and makeup artists. 7. Another casino creature. “The Force Awakens was about understanding the world of Star Wars,” Scanlan says. “For Last Jedi, we felt more confident.”

WORLD! 6

With aliens aplenty— including the denizens of a new casino city— the tradition of the Star Wars cantina lives on 7

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

THE GALACTIC

POWERS

JOHNSON RIAN

DIRECTOR

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

Photograph by KOURY ANGELO

Like an escape pod falling on Tatooine, Star Wars dropped “out of the blue” on writerdirector Johnson, 43. Before The Force Awakens started shooting, Lucasﬁlm president Kathleen Kennedy approached Johnson, best known for 2012’s time-bender Looper. The assignment was simple: “What happens next?” he says. FREE TO IMAGINE

“When I was writing the story, I would go in to Lucasﬁlm twice a week and just vomit all my weird ideas out there. I honestly didn’t get a lot of, ‘No, you can’t.’ ” NOT YOUR FATHER’S EMPIRE

“I tried to avert my eyes from The Empire Strikes Back,” Johnson says of the second movie in the original trilogy. “You’ve got Rey on a deserted planet with a master. Our heroes are split up. But this movie feels like its own thing, not a rehash of Empire.”

MASTER OF TWISTS AND TURNS 1. In Looper and his directorial debut, 2005’s Brick, Johnson directed Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who has a secret cameo role in The Last Jedi. 2. Johnson’s producing partner Ram Bergman (with Johnson and Kennedy) says the Star Wars job offer was “a surprise,” but taking it “was the best decision we’ve ever made.” 3. On the set of The Last Jedi.

“

We couldn’t think about scenes living up to what we grew up on. We just thought, ‘This is a scene that has to be awesome’ ” —RIAN JOHNSON

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

THE GALACTIC

POWERS

“

When George decided he was going to ask me to do this, we had worked together off and on for 30 years” —KATHLEEN KENNEDY

THE FORCE AWAKENED HER IN COLLEGE

“I am not someone who was 7 years old when I ﬁrst saw Star Wars,” says Kennedy, 64, who produced E.T., Schindler’s List and Jurassic Park before she took over the helm of George Lucas’s company. “I was in my early days of college.” Kennedy calls the original movie a game-changer. “If you had things that existed only in your imagination, there was a way to actually realize that in cinema.” SHE’S A CHAMPION OF FEMALE HEROES

“I’m very proud of the fact that [Star Wars] has awakened the idea of little girls becoming heroes and having characters they can look up to, like Rey.”

KATHLEEN

PRESIDENT, LUCASFILM 68

Photograph by MEREDITH JENKS FROM LEFT: SET DESIGN KRISTINA KITCHEN/ZENOBIA; WOODEN LADDER(2)

ALAN

HORN

CHAIRMAN, WALT DISNEY STUDIOS THE ORIGINAL SENT HIM INTO HYPERDRIVE

“I saw it on Wilshire Blvd. at the Avco theater in Los Angeles,” recalls Horn, 74. “I found myself driving my car 90 mph to get to hyperspace.” HE HAS A STATUE OF HIMSELF AS A STORMTROOPER

In his office Horn keeps “a foot-and-a-half model of a stormtrooper, which is me,” he says, joking that he served as a soldier for the dark side “but only for about nine months. I didn’t like their philosophy, and the uniforms were impossibly uncomfortable.”

“

I love the fact that George found so much humor. You have to have heart and humor in everything” —ALAN HORN

BOB

IGER

CEO, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY HIS FIRST STAR WARS G E E K- O U T M O M E N T

“I saw the original on the West Side of Manhattan in the summer of ’77,” says Iger, 66. “The whole thing seemed like the best theme-park attraction I’d ever ridden.” LIVING THE DREAM

Still a superfan, Iger counts visiting Harrison Ford in the Millennium Falcon and hugging Carrie Fisher while she was in her Princess Leia costume (no, not the bikini) among his career highlights. Photographs by KOURY ANGELO

“

If someone told me I would be CEO of a company responsible for Star Wars ﬁlms, I would have told them they were out of their minds” —BOB IGER

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

FANS MAY THE

BE WITH

YOU

From Lukes and Leias to a sweet l’il Darth, aﬁcionados of all ages ﬂocked to this year’s Star Wars Celebration in Orlando ready for their close-ups Photographs by MEREDITH JENKS

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

THE ROYAL TREATMENT “Carrie was constantly pitching me oneliners,” says Johnson (with Fisher). “I’d get 300 crazy wordplay puns. We’d maybe use one for a scene.”

THE MAKING OF THE LAST JEDI

BEHIND

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

THE SCENES

On-set, director Rian Johnson ‘built a bubble’ for cast and crew to keep the pressure of the Star Wars legacy far, far away

“

This was day one of ﬁlming, before The Force Awakens even came out, so it was a bit surreal” —RAM BERGMAN, PRODUCER

MAKING FANTASY A REALITY “It’s really exciting when you see all of your ideas and your designs coming to life,” says director of hair and makeup Peter Swords King.

LUKE HIGHWALKER “We had to film with a very minimal crew and climb 600 steps,” says Bergman of the threeday shoot at Luke’s hideaway, the Irish island of Skellig Michael.

FOCUS ON THE FORCE “Rian designed some of the hardest focus shots ever in terms of the camera pushing really fast into minimum focus on somebody moving around,” says cinematographer Steve Yedlin.

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

WOOKIEE ROOKIE “I’m still learning all the mannerisms,” says Chewbacca actor Joonas Suotamo (in the Millennium Falcon with director Johnson). “I want to be sure the fans will not go, ‘Hey, is there someone else playing Chewie?!’ ”

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

“

For us younger people, it’s not easy slipping into these shoes and ﬁlling the spot of Star Wars legends” —JOONAS SUOTAMO

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

EXCLUSIVE!

RIAN’S PHOTO ALBUM 1 4

Director Rian Johnson shares his own behindthe-scenes snapshots

“

There are some real surprises, but all of the cast and all of the crew read the whole script. The audience will be shocked but not the actors” —RIAN JOHNSON, DIRECTOR 7

3 DIRECTOR’S CUT 1. Resistance pilots gather for battle. 2. Mark Hamill as Luke. 3. Daisy Ridley’s Rey learns to wield the Skywalker lightsaber. 4. Captain Phasma and Finn are fierce rivals, but Gwendoline Christie and John Boyega are pals. 5. C-3PO unmasked! Anthony Daniels takes a breath. 6. C-3PO, always the center of the action. 7. Billie Lourd mans her station in the Resistance. 8. Hamill with the crew. 9. Oscar Isaac takes a coffee break. 10. Setting up a shot.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY RIAN JOHNSON

PEOPLE Star Wars: The Last Jedi

CARRIE FISHER 1956-2016

—MARK HAMILL

Star Wars: The Last Jedi PEOPLE

©LUCASFILM

“

I’m selﬁshly mad that she’s not here to make me laugh, but I’m also grateful for all that she was able to give us while she was here”

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Carrie Fisher as Leia and Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca on the set of 1980â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Empire Strikes Back.

CARRIE FISHER TRIBUTE, P. 54