General Hux actor Domhnall Gleeson has revealed that the first time he read Rian Johnson’s script for The Last Jedi, he found that it was different to what he expected.
Now, this isn’t exactly the scoop of the century, and is in keeping with Star Wars actors’ notoriously tight lips when it comes to discussing what actually happens in these films. Still, it ties into the growing feeling that Rian Johnson’s take on the franchise is going to push it in exciting new directions.
The update comes from Gleeson’s recent interview with Collider, in which he managed to say quite a lot about The Last Jedi while simultaneously giving nothing whatsoever away. Perhaps as a reaction to those who criticized The Force Awakens for regurgitating A New Hope‘s plot beats, Gleeson says:
“When I read it I needed to talk to [Rian Johnson], and I think that’s always a good sign. I was like, ‘Wow there’s some stuff there which is kind of—not scary but different to what I expected,’ and that’s a really, really nice thing. I think that’s a really positive thing, I think that’s important for those films that we don’t repeat ourselves.”
Later, and in keeping with what other cast members have said about the production, the actor sung the praises of Johnson’s vision and work ethic:
“When I talked to him he was so clear and so confident, not in a brash way but he knew the film he wanted to make, and it was a really lovely thing. Just [to] sit down with a filmmaker you really enjoy… but to see him, just the confidence of it and his excitement about what it could be and everything, it was really pleasing to see. Very calming.”
All this is good to hear, but let’s face it, Gleeson is hardly going to come out and say that the whole thing was a complete nightmare and he’s washing his hands of this multi-billion dollar franchise that’s launching him to superstardom.
He concludes by explaining how excited he is to see the finished product. Those of who’ve watched the behind-the-scenes videos of The Last Jedi and Rogue One will know that the raw footage can be quite different to what we see in theatres, so much of the movie will be as new to him as it will be to us.
“I’m just really interested to see the film now, as well. You never know what something’s gonna be like. Even when you read the script, you don’t know what the tone of something is gonna be. You can guess at it, but I can’t wait to see it. I just wanna sit in a room full of people and watch that movie and see what it does to us.”
Despite starring in About Time, my least favorite film of the last decade, I can’t help but like Gleeson. He was great in Ex Machina, Mother! and The Revenant and seems like a nice dude. Let’s hope General Hux has a decent amount of on screen villainy in Star Wars: The Last Jedi when it lands in theatres on December 15th.