Pity the fool who tried to release something other than “Star Wars” footage this afternoon. The only movie on anyone’s minds this afternoon has been “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” The crowd at Star Wars Celebration set the stage early by watching the film’s brand new teaser trailer twice in the conference hall; for the rest of the afternoon, fans and entertainment writers alike combed through every possible second of new footage, trying to find hints at the new characters and locations present in the film. In the process, a few easter eggs were unearthed, a few follow-up questions were answered, and a few new insights into the new “Star Wars” landscape were revealed.
READ MORE: ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’: 13 Things We Learned At The Star Wars Celebration Panel
Entertainment Weekly led the way with one big scoop: that desert planet seen in the trailer — the one I’ve thought of as Not-Tatooine since the trailer was released — is in fact a planet called Crait. “It’s way out there. It’s very remote. It’s uncharted,” director Rian Johnson told the magazine during post-panel interviews. “It’s a mineral planet and so there are mines on it.” According to Johnson, Crait was one of the first planets that his team had in mind for the movie. “It ends up playing a key role in the movie,” the director explained, noting that, much like Dantooine, the planet used to serve as the home of a Rebel base and that the Resistance forces “show up where they have to deal with a very pressing and immediate threat.”
Meanwhile, the folks at ComicBook.com were quick to identify a few lines of dialogue from Alec Guinness in the trailer during the shot of Kylo Ren’s broken helmet. Similarly, they noted Carrie Fisher‘s iconic “Help me, Obi-One Kenobi,” line in a shot of the late actress’s General Organna at the command center. As ComicBook.com notes, both of these easter eggs seem to hint that the character will play a pivotal role in the events of the new film, perhaps explaining why Luke Skywalker has chosen to avoid human contact for all these years? We’ll find out soon enough.
READ MORE: First Trailer For ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Continues The Epic Saga [Watch]
Finally, Fandango spoke with actor Mark Hamill and shared a few quotes that give credence to the idea that Hamill may be done with the “Star Wars” franchise after ‘The Last Jedi.’ While the actor was all-too quick to share how many of his terrible ideas didn’t make it into the final movies, he did slyly tell the site that it was “to be determined” as to whether or not he’d return for another film. A lot of guess work is at play here, but Hamill is certainly speaking like someone who is at peace with letting someone else take over the “Star Wars” saga. Read into that what you will.
We’re just getting started with the ‘Last Jedi’ rumors, so we’ll do our best to keep you in the loop in the weeks to come.