THIS MONTH AT EMPIRE
WHEN WE LAST saw Luke Skywalker, he was brooding atop a rock; in exile from the world, from the galaxy. Hey, I’m no psychologist, but some may say from himself. But what he didn’t bank on (but we did) was plucky, resourceful, rad-as-hell Rey, who made it clear in the final moments of The Force Awakens — lightsaber in outstretched, pleading hand — that she was grimly determined to pull Luke back into the heart of the Resistance. She won’t have an easy job of it, we fear, after everything we’ve seen and heard in the months since (“I only know one truth. It’s time for the Jedi to end.” Nooooo!). It’s certainly a stomachknotting premise for The Last Jedi: what becomes of the hope and heart of the Star Wars universe if Luke Skywalker is lost?
It’s a sitting-bolt-upright-in-bed-at-4am thought, so there was only one thing for it: we sent James Dyer, Empire’s resident Star Wars superfan/psychopath, to talk to the man himself, Mark Hamill, and director Rian Johnson. What they shared with him — and we’re sharing with you — made us even more anxious and excited for the film hitting cinemas in December. It’s a good job we’re kind of into being anxious and excited (pretty much all of the time). And here’s what else you should be anxcited about in this month’s Empire...
We speak to Darren Aronofsky and Jennifer Lawrence about the full-crazy horror movie
mother!, go on the set of David Fincher’s new serial-killer thriller MINDHUNTER, hang out with Steve Buscemi, take a first look at comedy
The Death Of Stalin and talk to Matthew Modine and Vincent D’onofrio about Full Metal Jacket some 30 years on. It’s a fairly out-there issue. And we couldn’t be prouder of it.