Entertainment Weekly continues their coverage on “The Last Jedi” today with a new article focusing on the state of General Leia, Poe Dameron, and the Resistance when the film begins.
Here are some of the new details learned from Entertainment Weekly about Leia and Poe’s relationship, where the Resistance stands in the galaxy, and how Rian Johnson says “The Last Jedi” will be a fitting send off for Carrie Fisher’s final performance as Leia:
“Her character to some degree or another has been defined by loss through this whole saga, starting with the loss of her home planet. She’s just taken hit after hit, and she’s borne it, and she focuses on moving forward and the task at hand,” says Rian Johnson.
Despite all the loss that Leia has suffered in her life, including most recently Han Solo, and the loss of her only son to the dark side, it looks like we’ll see Leia and Poe grow more closer in “The Last Jedi,” to a point where he becomes like a son to her. Oscar Isaac says that “Poe is in some ways a surrogate son for Leia. But also I think she sees in him the potential for a truly great leader of the Resistance and beyond. Poe’s arc is one of evolving from a heroic soldier to a seasoned leader, to see beyond the single-mindedness of winning the battle to the larger picture of the future of the galaxy. I think Leia knows she won’t be around forever and she, with tough love, wants to push Poe to be more than the badass pilot, to temper his heroic impulses with wisdom and clarity.”
As far as the Resistance as a whole goes, things are not looking to great for them at the start of the film, even though they dealt a huge blow to The First Order with the destruction of Starkiller Base. The article reveals that despite that victory, they are not maintaining order in the galaxy. “No, no, no. Not at all,” Johnson says. “They’re a small band that’s now cut off, on its own, and hunted when the Republic is shattered. When the First Order did that hit, the Resistance is isolated, and they’re very, very vulnerable. That’s where we pick them up.”
And sadly, Rian Johnson tells Entertainment Weekly how “The Last Jedi” ended up being an emotional conclusion to Carrie Fisher’s performance. “There’s no way that we could’ve known this would’ve been the last Star Wars movie she would be in, so it’s not like we made the film thinking that we were bringing closure to the character. But watching the film, there’s going to be a very emotional reaction to what she does in this movie.”
Be sure to check out the full article over at Entertainment Weekly, as Rian Johnson talks about Leia’s relationship with Laura Dern’s character Admiral Holdo, and Oscar Isaac shares a touching story about him and Carrie Fisher.
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