We’re 10 days away from the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi and a new international trailer has provided some interesting footage to obsess over for the next little bit.
The Chinese trailer, targeted at one of Disney’s largest audiences overseas, introduces the Monte Carlo-esque casino city, Canto Bight. Described by The Last Jedi director, Rian Johnson, as an “ultra glamorous” resort akin to “a playground, basically, for rich assholes,” there’s little question that the brief glimpse of Canto Bight we see is dazzling.
What’s more noticeable, however, are the Fathiers running rampant through the Canto Bight scene. We first learned about the Fathiers early last month, thanks to an Empire magazine interview with Neal Scanlan, the head of Star Wars’ Creatures Workshop. Scanlan, who also designed the divisive Porgs, told Empire that Fathiers were a majestic, magical breed of racing creature that are mistreated by those in Canto Bight who place bets on the Fathiers during races.
Scanlan’s interview also hinted that John Boyega’s Finn would appear in Canto Bight and interact with the Fathiers.
“We knew any version of those in a wide shot would be CG but we produced a real-scale practical version for the first encounter with a Fathier, so it was able to look over the stable door and Finn could touch and act with it,” Scanlan said. “They’re amazing creatures.”
It’s important to note that because the trailer has been cut for Chinese audiences, it may include scenes that won’t be in the North American version of the movie. Films are specially cut to pass strict Chinese regulations for film distribution. It’s unlikely that’s the case with The Last Jedi, but there is a possibility that some parts of the trailer may appear in one version of the film, either domestic or international, and not the other.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi will be released on Dec. 15.