'Star Wars: The Last Jedi': 12 fun facts you need to know

MANILA, Philippines — In Lucasfilm’s "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," the Skywalker saga continues as the heroes of "The Force Awakens" join the galactic legends in an epic adventure that unlocks age-old mysteries of the Force and shocking revelations of the past.

The film stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern and Benicio Del Toro.

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" is written and directed by Rian Johnson and produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman. J.J. Abrams, Tom Karnowski and Jason McGatlin are the executive producers. It is now showing in Philippine cinemas and is distributed by the Walt Disney Company (Philippines).

Here are some fun facts about the film.

1. Some of the films writer/director Rian Johnson looked at for inspiration while developing "Star Wars:The Last Jedi" include “12 O’Clock High” (1949), “To Catch a Thief” (1955) and “Three Outlaw Samurai” (1964).

2. Director Rian Johnson had his own personal 35mm camera around his neck constantly during the The Last Jedi shoot and enjoyed taking impromptu photos of anything he found interesting. Johnson also signed his name on the Millennium Falcon and, of course, recorded the moment with a photo!

Scene from "Star Wars: The Last Jedi." Lucasfilm/Released

Scene from "Star Wars: The Last Jedi." Lucasfilm/Released

3. Rian Johnson had a brief cameo in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” aboard the Death Star as an Imperial gunnery technician.

4. Academy Award–winning production designer Rick Heinrichs was tasked with designing and creating "The Last Jedi" environments. Construction was on a massive scale with 120 sets utilizing all stages and backlots at Pinewood, as well as stages at Longcross Studios and two foreign filming locations, Dubrovnik, Croatia, and the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland.

Scene from "Star Wars: The Last Jedi." Lucasfilm/Released

5. Familiar sets include the Millennium Falcon, the Resistance Cruiser, the Fighter Hangar, the Mine Control Center, the First Order sets, the Star Destroyer, the Mega Destroyer and Kylo’s Chambers. New environments and worlds created include the expanded Jedi Island Ahch-To, Canto Bight, the planet Crait and Snoke’s Throne Room.

6. Prior to production, production designer Rick Heinrichs was able to immerse himself in the spectacular library of visual reference at the Skywalker Ranch. He then set about creating a huge reference library of his own to share with his team, giving them both the opportunity to research and respect the original aesthetic created by George Lucas, while exploring new concepts and imagining the new worlds and environments envisaged by writer/director Rian Johnson.

7. The Jedi Village was designed to be built on a cliff top on the West Coast of Ireland, but practical, logistical and safety reasons made some filming impossible there, so the set, a series of beehive huts, based on the island huts where the monks had lived, were first constructed on the Pinewood Backlot. Once the scenes had been completed at Pinewood, the set was taken down, shipped and rebuilt on the cliff in Ireland.

Scene from "Star Wars: The Last Jedi." Lucasfilm/Released

8. "The Last Jedi" team reconstructed the interior of the Millennium Falcon—which had been impeccably put together for "The Force Awakens" by art director Mark Harris—on a Pinewood Stage.This allowed "The Last Jedi" filmmakers to put the entire exterior of the Millennium Falcon, on its Landing Pad, at the base of the Longcross Studios’ incline, beneath the 19-ton Jedi Tree.

9. The Canto Bight Casino build was so large, it had to be split across two stages at Pinewood, with the exterior built at Longcross, and the medieval city of Dubrovnik standing in for the planet Canto Bight, where the Casino is situated, and where the action spills out. The Casino set, which took 16 weeks to build, is an excellent example of how departments work together to create something extraordinary.

Scene from "Star Wars: The Last Jedi." Lucasfilm/Released

10. The costumes for the Canto Bight Casino scenes were a massive undertaking for costume designer Michael Kaplan and his team. Hundreds were made, each one completely different to the next.  It took two thirds of the entire costume prep time.  Just finding all the fabrics alone was a time consuming effort—the team sourced the materials used from New York to Los Angeles and from London to Florence.

11. New worlds and new environments meant creating new creatures for creative supervisor Neal Scanlan. Tasked with making 130 creatures that play very specific roles in unique moments, the team had their work cut out for them.

12. Scanlan and his team also created Porgs, which inhabit Ahch-To, the isolated island home of Luke Skywalker. The Porgs, which were very much an on-set favorite, are an adorable mix of a puffin, an owl and a baby seal. Everyone wanted to take one home!

Scene from "Star Wars: The Last Jedi." Lucasfilm/Released

Scene from "Star Wars: The Last Jedi." Lucasfilm/Released