Star Wars Bits: The #KyloRenChallenge, the Music of ‘The Last Jedi,’

In this edition of Star Wars Bits:

An analysis of the soundtrack from Star Wars: The Last Jedi
An old cast photo from The Phantom Menace
John Mayer sparks the #KyloRenChallenge
Shocking update: Star Wars is making lots of money
And much more!

You know guys….. people like things you don’t….like it’s a really big planet. Incase you forgot…

— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) December 27, 2017

A widely-anticipated, sci-fi/action movie was recently released, and it received a polarizing response from critics and audiences. Wait, Star Wars Episode what? I was talking about Bright! John Boyega experienced a similar misunderstanding when he proclaimed on Twitter that “people like things you don’t” in response to the negative backlash for Will Smith’s Netflix film, and Star Wars fans assumed he was referring to The Last Jedi because everything is always about Star Wars, obviously.

Remember when Rian Johnson wrote and directed an entire movie about “letting the past die”? Well, as it turns out, Johnson himself doesn’t believe in this maxim as much as his characters in The Last Jedi do. As excerpted by ScreenRant, Johnson had this to say in The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi: “If you think you are throwing away the past, you are fooling yourself. The only way to go forward is to embrace the past, figure out what is good and what is not good about it. But it’s never going to not be a part of who we all are.”

Star Wars fans can be pretty wicked smart, especially when it comes to deep-dive analyses of what makes Star Wars so special. In an epic, three-part miniseries for the podcast Full of Sith, Bobby Roberts tackles the soundtrack for The Last Jedi and brilliantly examines the latest musical themes and motifs from John Williams. You can check out all three episodes here.

Thanks for not letting @NathanHamill @GriffinHamill & @chelseahamill wind-up on #TheLastJedi cutting-room floor @rianjohnson! And for allowing my one directorial note: "Pop-up FASTER or Oscar'll block ya!" on the 2nd & final take. #MyKidsCoolCameoAsRebelScum pic.twitter.com/TVRVE5lwHf

— @HamillHimself (@HamillHimself) December 29, 2017

Who said Star Wars was finally moving on from the Skywalker family saga? Because Luke – that is, Mark Hamill – managed to get all of his children cameos in The Last Jedi. You can see Nathan, Griffin, and Chelsea Hamill in this Tweet from Mark Hamill. #DadOfTheYear!

Happy New Year from Team #Solo. We’re pretty pumped for 2018 pic.twitter.com/Gy3WkkGBiA

— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) January 1, 2018

Solo director Ron Howard began 2018 right, tweeting out a new teaser image from the scruffy-looking smuggler’s standalone Star Wars film. Looks like Han’s ridin’ solo…

One cast photo from The Phantom Menace (which hit theaters 18 years ago, by the way – do you feel old yet?) is giving the entire “Awkward Family Photos” website a run for its money. Originally posted on Reddit and then shared via Twitter by Star Wars Facts, the promo shot features Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, and Natalie Portman at peak ’90s, and Jake Lloyd at peak creepiness. Phantom Menace, indeed.

Let the battle of the fandoms commence! The Star Wars franchise has officially passed the Harry Potter franchise as the most lucrative film series of all time. The 10 theatrically released Star Wars films have grossed a collected $ 8.55 billion at the box office, narrowly surpassing the $ 8.53 billion grossed by the nine Harry Potter installments. Of course, both franchises are continuing to churn out more movies, so this race will probably go on until the end of time itself. (No complaints here!)

Meanwhile, The Last Jedi alone continues to rake in the cash, officially passing the $ 1 billion mark at the worldwide box office while topping Beauty and the Beast as the highest-grossing domestic film of the year. Variety has the details on where this latest Star Wars installment ranks in terms of global and domestic box office grosses. Controversy? What controversy?

Poor Kylo Ren thought he finally earned some respect in The Last Jedi, but alas: singer John Mayer initiated the #KyloRenChallenge on Instagram, turning everyone’s favorite patricidal Skywalker into an Internet meme once again. Fans quickly answered the call, posting pictures of themselves, their pets, and their LEGOs without shirts and with high-waisted black pants. Sift through the beefcake glory on Mashable.

A report from Daily Record indicates that Johnson will begin shooting the first film of his new Star Wars trilogy in Scotland as early as this coming June. No rest for the weary! Poor Rian Johnson. And by “poor Rian Johnson,” I mean, hey Rian Johnson, do you need some help co-writing your next Star Wars trilogy? Hit me up.

I personally wouldn’t believe any rumors about the filming date for Rian Johnson’s Star Wars trilogy. You typically have a script before you begin planning production. Also, I think it’s more likely he will direct an original project before his next Star Wars film.

— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) January 1, 2018

…but as our own Peter Sciretta points out, Johnson likely won’t begin working on the new Star Wars trilogy anytime soon, so the rumors about a production start date are probably just that: rumors.

Amazing! Every word in that tweet is WRONG. No wonder they have ANON in their title. I'd want to remain anonymous if I were spewing complete BS, too. #Disney angered? Final scene a surprise to me? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!! ???? #WhattaLoadaSITH

— @HamillHimself (@HamillHimself) December 27, 2017

Mark Hamill also recently took to Twitter to clear up a rumor that Disney killed off Luke Skywalker in post-production because the studio was angry about Hamill creating “bad press.” “Amazing!” Hamill wrote. “Every word in that tweet is WRONG.”