New Rolling Stone Article About TLJ

" I want it to have all the things tonally that I associate with Star Wars,which is not just the Wagner of it. It's also the Flash Gordon."

So, Wagner is a thing in this movie.
Not only but it is.

Sorry. I know it sounds rude... But can I say, I told you so!

 

Well, John Williams basically perfected the use of the leitmotif in film, starting with Star Wars. To my knowledge, no previous film composer used the technique so pervasively or so memorably before Star Wars. So there's that. But of course, the story of the OT is pretty operatic too...

 

See you in 30 years Daisy

 

I think is more than that. That Wagner's Ring inspired at least Luke's character arc in VIII.
And possibly even more.

 

Hmmmm....Interesting. Spends serious time together in the film kind of goes to my hunch that Snoke turns on Kylo or Kylo bolts from Snoke and goes to align himself with Rey and Luke. (I have not read spoilers, just a hunch).

 

I don't know the story of the Ring Cycle well enough to know what you mean. I'm curious: what do you have in mind?

 

In their latest cover story, Rolling Stone speaks to The Last Jedi writer/director Rian Johnson and members of the cast, about their experiences making the film, its parallels against the backdrop of the world today, and working with the late Carrie Fisher in her final film.







The coverage and interviews are delightfully candid, and while it doesn't spoil anything for The Last Jedi, it takes us inside the world of making the film and shines some new light on the actors and the future of the franchise!







Daisy Ridley realizes that while Star Wars is an escape for us, a place we can take a break from the real world and run with our imaginations, it is also a reflection of society, which tonally this film continues to push at us thematically, that the lines between light and dark might be more blurred than ever:

For a fandom with millions of people, and so much passion, regardless of infighting over stories or favorites, or plot devices, ultimately Star Wars is a family from the crew down to the fans. It is a truly uniting experience, a subculture, often a religion where people can come together to share their love for a mythology so rich with stories, especially now in a time where we are getting a new Star Wars film every year. Even the ruthless and brutal Captain Phasma can see that, as Gwendoline Christie opines:

If you remember back to The Force Awakens marketing campaign, the trailers were quite dark at times, with serious musical undertones. The film wound up being much more light and fun than we anticipated, while keeping up with some of the serious plot angles of the story. Rian Johnson wants to let it be known that while the second act in a trilogy is often darker, he made sure to keep this film Star Wars, and promises it will still be loaded with charm and fun, amidst some of the darker events that may transpire:

When the dust settles after The Last Jedi hits theaters, climbs the box office charts, becomes a fan favorite, we will, no matter how much we want to avoid it, have officially seen the last of Carrie Fisher in the saga. Johnson assures us that Carrie's role was complete, and that he altered nothing to adjust from her passing:

Johnson expressed how he continues to be confused by people shocked he could have written the story without any predetermined end-point or destination. Once again, making it clear that he was the decider of where the story went, and what happened to the characters:

Rian Johnson and Mark Hamill sat down together, talking about how Luke's story came to be in The Last Jedi, off of where he left off in J.J. Abram's film. Johnson joked with Hamill that he almost toyed with the idea of making Luke blind at one point! Like an old monk or samurai (this was before that device was applied to a character in Rogue One). The two talked about how they clashed over Luke's story in the film, ultimately growing closer together through understanding. Hamill's shock that Luke has become so defeated with a lost sense of hope is endearing, it shows how much that character still means to him 40 years later.







When asked about Luke's hardships from the beginning, Hamill compared it to life. That at times he wishes he had Luke's life rather than his. Johnson explains that yes Luke has gone through horrible events in his life, but that's what makes him the great hero, he never turned, he always found a way to endure:

Adam Driver



Adam Driver who we haven't heard much from in the promotion for the film, perhaps since he famously tongue-in-cheek said he would prefer if the film had no trailers at all, praised Johnson for taking on and executing with brilliance, the task of not only writing and directing a Star Wars film, but continuing off of the story that another writer began:

What drew him to Kylo Ren were the complexities of the character. It wasn't just 'the bad guy' versus 'the good guy' to him, which attracted him to the story. He touches on the fact that Kylo Ren is younger than him (Adam is 34), but appears to retract immediately, to not throw new theories into a tornado:

Driver makes a good point, one we have seen as early as Kevin Smith's Clerks (1994), that while the Empire was indeed evil, they were still people, at work, with jobs, families, blown to nothing: 

That is about as serious of a metaphor you can bring to the table for Star Wars, so to round it out by, bringing some 'balance' or levity to the interview, he gives us an idea of the difference between watching Star Wars, experiencing the spectacle, compared to being on set when the cameras aren't rolling, but the atmosphere still looks the same:

Daisy Ridley







J. J. Abrams has recently stated that he sees Episode IX as the end of the Skywalker saga, and possibly the most shocking part of this Rolling Stone coverage is that Daisy Ridley has adamantly said she doesn't want to play Rey beyond the end of this trilogy, that this will be it. When asked she replied:

Rolling Stone's Brian Hiatt points out that answer actually almost sounds like a 'yes':

When asked if perhaps in 30 years, in her mid-fifties, if called upon, could she make a return as the legacy characters Luke, Han, and Leia have, she says possibly, but couldn't wrap her mind around that thought.



Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits theaters in 15 days! We will get many of the answers we are looking for, with more questions to come, in a movie that will be much lighter than we are being shown through marketing, with characters on both sides of the aisle between light and dark believing what they are doing is right.





SOURCE: Rolling Stone 





You can find me on Twitter @JohnnyHoey, and we'll be talking about this on The Resistance Broadcast @RBatSWNN!





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I've said it before and I'm saying it again: If this trilogy really is the end of the Skywalker saga, combined with Daisy Ridley not returning after epIX, this trilogy might end with Luke, Rey and Ben becoming the new Mortis trio, together keeping the Force in balance.

 

Is he playing 19-20 by any chance? haha

 

This bit is fascinating to me. I don't think Daisy would've been told by JJ who her parents were if the decision was ultimately going to be left up to Rian... but at the same time, I'm not sure why Rian would act like he wasn't given any direction to who her parents were, even to protect one of JJ's mystery boxes... not entirely sure what's going on there.

Also... where did the general assumption that Kylo was 30 come from?

 

I don't think his age is revealed in Bloodline, it probably wouldn't stick with me even if it was, unless it said something much different than the generally assumed age. I haven't read the Aftermath trilogy yet but I know of some things that happens in it, and yeah I don't think it could really be retconned unless you're gonna start to tell us that these novels really aren't canon. MAYBE you could shave a year or two off, but no way they're getting away with a decade or something a lot more drastic to make him closer in age to Rey.

 

Yes, Kylo's age is canon. But he and Rey could be the same emotional age. And now that I think of it....they're definitely the same emotional age.

 

Officially from Star Wars, the ages during THe Force Awakens are the following:

Kylo Ren 29/30
Poe 32
Hux 34
Phasma unknown
Finn 23
Rey 19

 

i'm pretty sure Rey is older in that regard ~ hahahaha

 

I was about to defend Kylo, but who are we kidding...you're probably right haha

 

It wouldn’t be Wendig’s first red herring, but a lot of focus is made on Leia being pregnant fairly close after the events of ROTJ. It wouldn’t make much sense for it not to be Ben. A thirty year time jump from there lines up pretty well.

 

Daisy for the sake of her own career needs to leave certain 'stuff' behind. I'd be doing the same its suffocating. These past two years -YUCK!!!