Disney’s D23 Expo this year is full of Star Wars, and today director Rian Johnson debuted a new behind the scenes reel about the making of The Last Jedi. Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, and Oscar Isaacs all make appearances in the clip, which details the creative process behind the eagerly-awaited sequels. The mood is excited but somber at times, with the director saying at one point that the film may seem “shocking” when audiences finally see it.
The behind-the-scenes reel is part of an expertly-crafted promotional strategy that Disney also followed with both The Force Awakens and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Those films also received a trailer, followed by making-of footage that brought audiences inside the creative process itself. The difference here is timing. For The Force Awakens, the behind-the-scenes clip actually premiered during the film’s presentation at San Diego Comic-Con. But this year, Lucasfilm and Disney are using D23 Expo — the company’s own convention designed to celebrate its fans and films — to deliver the bulk of its Star Wars updates.
As with The Force Awakens before it, plot details of The Last Jedi have been kept remarkably quiet thus far, and the new clip does nothing to change that. Judging by past precedent however, a new trailer will be coming in the next few months. Star Wars: The Last Jedi itself will arrive in theaters on December 15th.
