'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' video shows Chewie getting coached
Go behind the scenes with a newly released featurette focusing on director Rian Johnson and his cast, including the late Carrie Fisher.
- Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year" award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
See this exclusive new behind-the-scenes video from #StarWars with the late Carrie Fisher: https://t.co/QOPhwXIfP0 pic.twitter.com/16vGw5waZY
— USA TODAY Life (@usatodaylife) October 24, 2017
Even Chewbacca needs some coaching now and then. A new behind-the-scenes video shot on the set of "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" shows director Rian Johnson offering tips on how to growl to the giant Wookiee (played by both Joonas Suotamo and original actor Peter Mayhew).
"Sad like a dog whimper," Johnson suggests, and Chewie does sound a bit like a golden retriever whose favorite bone is trapped under the couch.
The video, shared by USA Today, also shows Daisy Ridley (Rey) getting in some artsy lightsaber twirling, Finn (John Boyega) marching, the famed Luke Skywalker-Rey lightsaber handoff, and the late Carrie Fisher praising Johnson's directorial talents.
The film is a childhood flashback come to life for Johnson. "Walking up the ramp, walking to the hallway, I flash back to when I was a kid with the action figures," Johnson admits. "Suddenly I had, like, a big lump in my throat."
Johnson does come off as a kid fan who can't believe his luck. In one snippet, he's shown trying on a Stormtrooper helmet, in another, he tries to slap the hands of a giant crowd of crew gathered to mark his birthday and discovers he's taken on too much.
"There's too many of everybody, I misjudged this," he wails.
"The Last Jedi' comes to theaters on Dec. 15.
