Loads of new Star Wars: The Last Jedi images showcase Praetorian Guards, Porgs and more

We’re four months out from Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (and still waiting for a full trailers) and we’ve been given a load of new images of new and old faces and places.

Some of the new stuff includes Snoke’s Praetorian Guards who harken back to the red Royal Guards the The Emperor favoured in Return of the Jedi: “The Emperor’s guards were very formal, and you always got the sense that they could fight, but they didn’t,” says writer/director Rian Johnson, “They looked like they were more ceremonial, and you never really saw them in action. The Praetorians, my brief to [costume designer] Michael Kaplan was that those guys have to be more like samurai. They have to be built to move, and you have to believe that they could step forward and engage if they have to. They have to seem dangerous.”

Next up is Chewbacca with The Porg, new new race of embarrassingly cute aliens (who we really hope aren’t the new Ewoks!) who were inspired by the Puffins on Skellig Michael in Ireland where part of the movie was filmed.

Finally, we’ll see The Caretakers, an “amphibious anthropomorphic nun-like creatures who tend to the buildings on Ahch-To, where Luke has chosen to hide in exile.” 

It seems the Caretakers aren’t happy with Luke being there but they  are dealing with it and getting on with their lives with the stranger in it.

While we have no images of Snoke himself, it seems we will see more of him in the movie: “Similar to Rey’s parentage, Snoke is here to serve a function in the story. And a story is not a Wikipedia page. For example, in the original trilogy, we didn’t know anything about the Emperor except what Luke knew about him, that he’s the evil guy behind Vader. Then in the prequels, you knew everything about Palpatine because his rise to power was the story.”  Johnson says, “we’ll learn exactly as much about Snoke as we need to.”

So, what do you all think of the new creatures and characters? Let us know…

Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens December 15th. John Boyega (Finn), Daisy Ridley (Rey), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata), Gwendoline Christie (Captain Phasma), Dohmnall Gleeson (General Hux), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), the late Carrie Fisher (General Leia), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), and Andy Serkis (Snoke) all return for the latest Star Wars, joined by newcomer Kelly Marie Tran alongside Benicio Del Toro and Laura Dern.

Porg and Chewie?

Snoke’s Praetorians Guards:

Source: EW