Star Wars Bits: Laura Dern Hugs Chewbacca, Domhnall Gleeson Talks Hux’s Motives, And ‘The Last Jedi’ Interviews Galore
In this edition ofStar WarsBits:
Rancho Obi-Wan’s grand theft saga has mercifully come to a close, as the man responsible for a series of thefts from Steve Sansweet’s non-profit museum ofStar Warsmemorabilia has been granted his sentence. Here is Sansweet’s statement on the verdict, courtesy ofTeam Jedi News:
AN UPDATE: As many of you know, Carl Cunningham pleaded guilty to felony grand theft earlier this year and admitted to stealing about $200,000 of Star Wars memorabilia from Rancho Obi-Wan. Today, in Sonoma County Superior Court he was sentenced to one year in jail and three years of probation. A restitution hearing will be held soon.
And remember, kids: smuggling IRL isnotcool.
Following the loot crate controversy that left fans ofStar Warsgames cold,a leaked gameplay video shows thatBattlefront IIplayers may soon be able to customize characters.GameSpothas additional analysis on the situation, including a glorious mental image of Darth Vader in pink armor.
Mark Hamill made his first visit toThe Ellen Showa memorable one: first, by losing spectacularly in a game ofStar Warstrivia against 10-year-old superfan Britton Walker, and second, by supplying Ellen with some wonderful tidbits about Carrie Fisherin this interview.
Empirepublisheda juicy excerptfrom the magazine’s January issue featuring all thingsStar WarsandThe Last Jedi. This quote above comes from Hux actor Domhnall Gleeson, whose character is clearly aiming to be more of a main player in the upcoming film:
Let the power struggle commence!
.@brianNpikachu@JoonasSuotamoHi Joonas!#RianJohnsonpic.twitter.com/XlM5NlFU4o
— Star Wars (@starwars)August 23, 2025
As reported byEW,Rian Johnson revealed in a recent Facebook live event that his wrap gift from Neal Scanlan, the head of theStar Warscreature shop, was a Porg. (The entire Q&A can be foundhereandhere, on theStar WarsFacebook page.) However, in answer to a fan question, Johnson also tweeted rather cheekily that working with Porgs was “an absolute nightmare.” Blasphemy! Might we expect Episode IX to be titled “Revenge of the Porgs”?
More tidbits fromEW: Pablo Hidalgo of the Lucasfilm story group explained the philosophy behind the design of the Resistance’s rickety old ski speeders, depicted above striding into battle against the First Order on Crait. “They are basically heaps of crap,” Hidalgo told EW. “They are old and not meant to instill confidence. They are like a lot of things in the Resistance — weapons of last resort.” Three cheers for the underdogs!
StarWars.composted a complete collection of Pop Icon posters, featuring bold but minimalist designs of symbols that are important toThe Last Jedi. Must… hide… wallet…
Laura Dern is all of us. OnJimmy Kimmel Live!, Dernrelated an anecdotethat recalls her first meeting with Chewbacca on the set ofThe Last Jedi:
One day on set, Rian [Johnson] said,Hey Laura, somebody wants to say hi.And I remember turning around, and I was like,CHEWBACCA? And I started crying. I felt slightly embarrassed that I was weeping when he hugged me, but it was profound.
Here’s hoping a certain Maz Kanata doesn’t get jealous!
This cutie!pic.twitter.com/ub9GuO7iC3
— Laura Dern (@LauraDern)July 05, 2025
No, hold up, this video of Laura Dern meeting BB-8 trumps anything and everything I may have written before this. Where’s our BB-8 and Amilyn Holdo spinoff?!
The recently releasedChinese trailerforThe Last Jediis quite the stunner, featuring some clips fromThe Force Awakensand a couple of new bits fromTLJ–including a herd of Fathiers storming what looks like a casino on Canto Bight. Run free, my pretties!
Spoiler alert: Han Solo dies inThe Force Awakens. According to some pre-The Last Jediinterviews picked up byScreenRant, however, Han’s friends and family won’t have much of a chance to mourn him in the upcoming film. “We’re just keeping it moving, to be honest with you, man. It’s true. The pressure’s on, man. There’s no time,” John Boyega said. “In terms of Han, I’m sure we all feel sentimental – if someone were to sit Finn down, sit Rey down. But Rey’s off training, she’s got stuff to do. I’ve got a back injury, I’ve got stuff to do. I can’t think about Han at the moment.”
I’m assuming your stomach pain is from laughing at my “dad jokes”- If anyone could appreciate them it would be you, son. (Btw, I felt the same way, but I think it was the sushi I ordered at the bus station) PS: You’re finntastic in#TheLastJedi💚-mhhttps://t.co/phhs1CkjN7
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill)August 18, 2025
Space dad Mark Hamill and international treasure John Boyega are at it again, trolling each other on Twitter and givingusstomach pain from all of the laughter. For a complete roundup of their latest rollicking adventure, check outMashable.
John Boyega’s delightful interview withScreenCrushdemonstrates that he is as passionate aStar Warsfan as the rest of us. In the Q&A, Boyega talks about showing up on set just to watch Mark Hamill and Daisy Ridley train, and reveals what he asked Rian Johnson to change about his character coming out ofThe Force Awakens.
In the above interview with ScreenCrush, Boyega also shared his controversial hot take with regards to Porgs. OnJimmy Kimmel Live!, Boyega made his opinion known to Almighty Porg Creator Rian Johnson himself, as other members of theLast Jedicast gasp in alarm. Fortunately for Porg Nation, Oscar Isaac is emphatically pro-Porg.
On the same episode ofJimmy Kimmel Live!, Mark Hamill and Daisy Ridley discuss the “literal cliffhanger” scene that bridgesThe Force AwakenswithThe Last Jedi, and Hamill goes into detail about Luke’s edgy new facial hair.
In an interview withCollider, Rian Johnson divulged some details on what to expect whenThe Last Jedieventually hits Blu-Ray and DVD– alotof deleted scenes. Johnson says that some of his favorite sequences had to be cut from the film to shave it down to its already lengthy two-and-a-half hour runtime. Are we going to get a three-hour director’s cut at some point? Fans can only dream.
Collideralso spoke withJohn Boyega, who is excited for the Obi-Wan Kenobi standalone film, but would also like to see a spin-off about Yoda’s origins. Come on, Lucasfilm: Do or do not, there is no try!
Vulturereported on the Los Angeles press conference forThe Last Jedi, gathering quotes from female cast members on what Carrie Fisher and Leia Organa means to them. Captain Phasma actor Gwendoline Christie said of the iconic, self-rescuing princess: “What was really instrumental for me as someone who didn’t feel like they fit in that homogenized view of what a woman was supposed to be is that there was inspiration there. You could be an individual and celebrate yourself and be successful without giving yourself over, without necessarily making some sort of terrible, huge compromise.” To us, she’ll always be royalty.
