New Star Wars: The Last Jedi behind the scenes trailer at D23

New behind the scenes footage for Star Wars: The Last Jedi was released at the D23 Expo Live Action panel and it’s everything you could hope for.

Fans who were lucky enough to get into the D23 Expo Live Action panel were rewarded with exclusive news about the new Star Wars: The Last Jedi film. The behind the scenes trailer that debuted was released on the Star Wars social media accounts and the footage is enough to make you want to start lining up for the December 15 premiere. (Well, perhaps not quite yet…but soon)

Here’s the behind the scenes trailer:

Though we don’t see a lot of finished footage, the glimpses we do see of action on the set give us a lot to think about. By all accounts, the middle story of the trilogy sounds like it has a standalone quality to it even though it fits into the larger storyline. Both Daisy Ridley and Mark Hamill hint that things happen in The Last Jedi’s story that even they weren’t expecting, which gives fans a lot to think about.

One of the things that really stood out for me is that there are lots of powerful women in this footage. Ridley seems to have embraced her role and it’s great to see scenes of Rey kicking butt because that’s why we love her. She’s smart and she can kick butt.

There’s a flash to Billie Lourd that makes us proud, and every time we see Carrie Fisher we feel her loss all over again. Seeing Fisher laughing with Mark Hamill is everything we could hope for.

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And, in the end, “It’s about family.”

Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits theaters on December 15, 2017.