Movies

Episode 8 Bits: New Millennium Falcon Photos, Yet Another Wacky Rey Theory, And Chewbacca Visits A School

episode 8 bits
By Jacob Hall/

In today's edition of Episode 8 Bits:

  • A group of "urban explorers" take some pretty great pictures of the Millennium Falcon.
  • Irish set photos reveal a new alien of some kind.
  • Chewbacca visits a school to hang out with the local youth.
  • Lucasfilm thanks Ireland for hosting their shoot.
  • The latest wacky theory about Rey's parentage.
  • A potential spoiler about Luke Skywalker.

    • There is a full-size Millennium Falcon parked in the woods near Star Wars: Episode 8's Pinewood Studios set and we know this because people keep on "stumbling" into it and taking lovely pictures that probably have the Lucasfilm legal department furrowing their brows and exploring their options. The latest round of photos arrived at Oblivion State (a "British urban exploration forum") and you can click that link if you want to check out a large gallery of images. Of all the set photos that have made their way online so far, these are undeniably the best of the bunch. They're taken with great care, showcasing the famous ship from every possible angle. The photographer even ventures inside of the Falcon, offering a fun look at how the exterior versions of the ship are detailed facades with nothing inside save for a few support beams.

    Speaking of photos you'll need to click over to another site to check out because we live in a highly litigious society, Star Wars News Net has posted a very intriguing picture from Episode 8's Irish set. From a distance, it just looks like the crew gathered around some king of a brown blob. If you zoom in, you'll note that the brown blob is actually a massive humanoid shape, mostly likely a practical alien special effect. It's impossible to tell if this is a friend or a foe, but considering the location, it certainly looks like Luke Skywalker and Rey won't be alone on Ahch-To.

    Having a major film production working in your neck of the woods has a few benefits. A lot of money is pumped into the local economy, you can become internet-famous after you snap photos of blurry aliens at a distance, and, if you're really lucky, Chewbacca will visit you at school. Garret Daly shared a few pictures of the galaxy's most famous Wookiee paying his nephew's school a visit and they're nothing short of adorable.

    As regular readers of Star Wars Bits and its spin-offs know, a significant portion of Star Wars: Episode 8 was filmed in Ireland, with the production taking advantage of the nation's natural beauty to create Luke Skywalker's island home of Ahch-To. Lucasfilm officially thanked the entire country for its support and hospitality with an ad in The Irish Examiner, which calls out the local crew for their hard work and the local citizenry for being so supportive (except for the ones who, you know, keep on taking pictures of the set).

    Rey in the force awakens ending

    Another day, another bonkers fan theory for you to digest while we wait for things like actual news! A Reddit user has yet another theory about Rey's parentage and it involves the Force-sensitive tree introduced in the Star Wars: Shattered Empire comic. Here's the quick and dirty version: Luke Skywalker recruits Poe Dameron's mother to assist him in stealing two Force-sensitive trees, taken from the destroyed Jedi temple on Coruscant, from an Imperial stronghold. He keeps one and gives the other to Poe's mom. She plants it near her home and Luke takes his elsewhere, possibly to Ahch-To. After all, there have been photos of an Episode 8 set featuring a mysterious tree. Anyway, the theory ultimately goes here:

    So yeah, the big reveal at the end of the comic is that these were Poe's parents. The Force tree being planted near him might explain why he's such a good pilot as he is strong in the Force.

    And I feel this also explains why his younger sister, Rey, later shows an extreme connection to the Force, as she was conceived most likely under the presence of the force tree.

    Is Rey the sister of Poe Dameron? Almost certainly not. But it's something chew on while we wait for the steak to arrive.

    luke skywalker

    Let's close out this edition with little spoiler courtesy of Making Star Wars, who have been accurate enough in the past for this to be worthy of consideration (although their recent Rogue One reshoots story turned out to be partial B.S.). So, you know, grain of salt and all that. Of course, those who want to know as little about the movie as possible should turn back now and so on and so forth.

    Still here? It seems that one of the Irish involves a large boulder, which will figure in at least one scene with Luke Skywalker:

    According to people in the area the location is being called "The Mediation Rock" by the crew. There is a scene with Luke Skywalker as he meditates on this rock. The strange part is that in concept art glimpsed around the location, suddenly Ahch-To has a binary sunset while Luke meditates. I'm thinking the concept art is implying that Luke sees this when in a meditative state because if the planet had two suns it would be a lot hotter than it is. Perhaps mentally going back to the twin suns of Tatooine centers the old Jedi?

    I've always preferred the image of Jedi Knights as mystical monks rather than straight-up soldiers, so this is the kind of imagery I can get behind.

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