Star Wars toys tied to the Star Wars franchise might usually be influenced many films that Lucasfilm has made but it seems like a Star Wars toy has gone the other way around, forcing changes in a specific scene in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
In a video by Entertainment Weekly, Star Wars: The Last Jedi's VFX team come to explain how a Star Wars toy's design error actually had a significant impact on the film. In the beginning ofThe Force Awakens sequel, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) comes flying in using his personalized ‘TIE Silencer' to go after the fleeing Resistance and take down their cruisers.
However while fans get to see one of the cooler ships in the sequel trilogy come flying into action, little did they know that the scene in the film actually had to be changed halfway through The Last Jedi's production. Director Rian Johnson had gotten his hands on one of the TIE Silencer toys meant to accompany his Star Wars movie, and the filmmaker noticed something strange in the merchandise.
"Initially, the plan was to have missiles on the underside, and shoot them off, and that was it," VFX Supervisor for Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) London Mike Mulholland explained at East London's VFX Festival last week (via Radio Times) "But halfway through production Rian got a toy, a prototype toy of the Kylo fighter. And they had the missiles on the side wings! So we went and redesigned a bit of it [in the movie] so that we could open it up and pop them out."
"I've heard of the toys' influence in the past, but that was the first time for me," Mulholland said, laughing.
Johnson could have disregarded the ships faulty design, but to make sure that the toy remained consistent with the movie, he decided to adjust the scene instead. That certainly must have been a lot of work for Johnson and his team.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is currently screening in cinemas.
Read: Daisy Ridley Says Star Wars: The Last Jedi Proves Rey Isn't The Center Of New Trilogy
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