Rian Johnson Reveals Name Of New 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' Planet

Tatooine. Geonosis. Hoth. Alderaan. Naboo. Coruscant. The names of the Star Wars planets have become so embedded in fans' collective consciousness that I'd guess many of us could name more attributes about these fictional locations than we could about actual countries on Earth. Now Rian Johnson, the writer/director of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, has revealed a new name for fans to commit to memory. Read on to discover the name of the newest Star Wars planet.

Take a look at the 1:16 mark in the new trailer above. In an interview with EW, Johnson revealed that the planet seen in that shot – the one that sort of looks like salt plains – is called Crait. "It's way out there. It's uncharted," he says. "It's a mineral planet and so there are mines on it." That's not all: it also has some history with the rebellion. There's "an old rebel base there that's now abandoned," according to the filmmaker.

This location was reportedly one of the first things Johnson came up with when he began crafting the story of The Last Jedi. He says "it ends up playing a key role in the movie" and that the Resistance fighters we see in the trailer "show up where they have to deal with a very pressing and immediate" threat. If you look closely at the 1:17 mark in the trailer, you can see a line of vehicles in the distance. Looks like a threat to me.

As we covered in a recent edition of Star Wars Bits, those are reportedly an upgrade of the classic AT-ATs from the original trilogy, and they're called "First Order Heavy Assault Walkers" Some reports have indicated that they're taller than the AT-ATs and double their width, with thick, reinforced legs so small ships won't be able to rope them down like we saw in The Empire Strikes Back. They're still too far away in this shot to be able to confirm these details, but I hope they're accurate because it would mean that First Order is actually learning lessons from the Empire's mistakes. If that's the case, it means The Last Jedi likely won't suffer from the same sense of needing to work in familiar territory that The Force Awakens was saddled with as it shook off the memory of the prequels and introduced everyone to the aesthetic of a modern Star Wars trilogy.

So what do you think about the name "Crait" – it sure has a better ring to it than "Ahch-To," doesn't it?

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