Warning: This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi introduced us to a variety of new people and creatures, but there were familiar faces and voices everywhere from Canto Bight to Crait.
Just like The Force Awakens before it, The Last Jedi was sprinkled with celebrity cameos. Some featured stars are friends with the director, while others were just passing through the set. Some are background characters, visible for mere seconds, while others have a minor role to play. Some are hiding behind masks or prosthetics, while others aren’t even human. In some cases the film purposely disguised celebrities so their presence wouldn’t take us out of the movie, giving fans a surprise well after the fact.
For instance, Simon Pegg—a frequent collaborator with J.J. Abrams—was utterly unrecognizable as Unkar Plutt, Jakku’s junkyard overlord in The Force Awakens, while Daniel Craig was the stormtrooper who Rey manipulated with a classic Jedi mind trick during her imprisonment on Starkiller Base.
So who’s hiding in plain sight? Let’s take off the mask and find out.
Prince William and Prince Harry
Role: Stormtroopers
The British royals famously visited the set of The Last Jedi at Pinewood Studios last year, leading to longstanding speculation that Prince William and Prince Harry filmed a small part while they were there. They’re examples of a cameo that would likely be too distracting for the movie, so their roles had to disguise their faces. You can’t get much more anonymous than being a stormtrooper, a faceless soldier who does the First Order’s bidding.
The fact that they cameoed in the movie has been widely accepted before we even saw it, but the bigger question is whether they made the cut. Earlier this week, John Boyega (Finn) told ITV’s This Morning that Prince William and Prince Harry’s cameo was cut out of The Last Jedi. However, a representative for Boyega said that the actor was joking about the princes’ cameo being cut, suggesting that it might still be in the movie.
Their scene takes place on the Supremacy, Supreme Leader Snoke’s own ship, after defected stormtrooper Finn and Resistance mechanic Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) infiltrate it with codebreaker DJ (Benicio Del Toro). To spot them you’ll have to keep a careful eye on the First Order soldiers. Apparently, they’re both a little tall to be stormtroopers.
Tom Hardy
Role: Stormtrooper
Actor Tom Hardy’s cameo, which was widely reported on before The Last Jedi, is similar to the British royals’ appearance. The Mad Max: Fury Road star appears in the same scene as William and Harry, so he’ll be among other stormtroopers after Finn, Rose, and DJ are on the Supremacy.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Role: Slowen Lo
Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Don Jon, Looper) has starred or appeared in all three of director Rian Johnson’s films before Johnson took up The Last Jedi. This makes four, as Gordon-Levitt confirmed the cameo himself back in October.
I believe it’s only me and one other actor who has appeared in all four @rianjohnson movies. Proud and honored. Btw, name the other guy… https://t.co/usxDtRfuWT
— Joseph Gordon-Levitt (@hitRECordJoe) October 10, 2017
You won’t recognize him, but Gordon-Levitt plays Slowen Lo, a resident of Canto Bight. Like the Abednedo Resistance pilot Ello Asty, the name Slowen Lo is a Beastie Boys reference. He’s seen filing a police report after Finn and Rose illegally park their shuttle on the beach. According to the Star Wars: The Last Jedi Visual Dictionary—a compendium of detailed illustrations of characters, propers, costumes, etc.—Slowen Lo became rich after selling driftwood sculptures, unlike other residents whose fortunes came from funding wars.
Noah Segan
Role: Stomeroni Starck
As Gordon-Levitt hinted at in October, there’s only one other actor who has appeared in all of Johnson’s films, leading fans to conclude that Noah Segan (Looper, Brick) would also have a cameo. Segan shows up as a Resistance pilot named Stomeroni Starck. As seen in the Last Jedi Visual Dictionary, his helmet is orange and white with a checkered square on it.
Justin Theroux
Role: Master Codebreaker
DJ—the codebreaker who helped Finn and Rose sneak onto the Supremacy—wasn’t Finn and Rose’s first choice. That distinction was given to Leftovers star Justin Theroux, who appeared briefly at a high-rollers table on Canto Bight. Only known by his title Master Codebreaker, he invites anyone to break his code and figure out who he is for the chance to become the next Master Codebreaker.
Would he have betrayed the Resistance? Who knows—at this point we can only assume he’s right where we left him in the casino.
Michaela Coel
Role: Resistance Monitor
Chewing Gum star and creator Michaela Coel is seen briefly toward the beginning of The Last Jedi as she monitors the Resistance’s attack on the First Order. She cheekily confirmed her role in the film on Twitter after the film’s U.S. release.
https://twitter.com/MichaelaCoel/status/941674837243777024
Edgar and Oscar Wright
Role: Resistance pilots
Director Edgar Wright, one of the many, many directors who cameoed in The Last Jedi, appeared with his brother Oscar (a storyboard artist) as part of the Resistance.
This feels like an appropriate moment to let you all know that me and my big brother Oscar are blink-and-you’ll-miss-us-rebels in ‘The Last Jedi’. Oh, and the film is truly great. Go @riancjohnson! pic.twitter.com/8e3CaziJyu
— edgarwright (@edgarwright) December 10, 2017
Gareth Edwards
Role: Resistance Trench Soldier
Rogue One director Gareth Edwards had Johnson make a cameo in his Star Wars film, and Johnson returned the favor. You can see Edwards on Crait, the mineral planet that houses an old Rebel base where Resistance soldiers attempt to escape the First Order.
Joe Cornish
Role: N/A
Not much is known about the role that director Joe Cornish, who directed Boyega in Attack the Block, plays, but Johnson confirmed that Cornish is in The Last Jedi.
Warwick Davis
Role: Wodibin
Warwick Davis, who played Wick the Ewok in Return of the Jedi and has appeared in multiple Star Wars films since, returns as Wodibin, one of three gambling-obsessed Seurtons who have the ability to “subconsciously affect probability,” according to the Last Jedi Visual Dictionary. It doesn’t appear they’re using their powers for evil purposes.
Lily Cole
Role: Lovey
Actress and model Lily Cole is briefly seen in Canto Bight alongside Theroux’s Master Codebreaker. The script doesn’t reveal her name so she goes by “Lovey,” a moniker of the Master Codebreaker’s creation.
Honorable Mention: Gary Fisher
Role: Space Gary (sort of)
Gary the Dog, Carrie Fisher’s lovable companion, doesn’t actually appear in The Last Jedi, but you can see his influence in the galaxy’s lavish Canto Bight. Shortly before The Last Jedi premiered, a fan pointed to a promotional photo of Rose and Finn and asked Johnson if the odd-looking but adorable creature in the hands of one of the casino’s patrons was inspired by Gary.
https://twitter.com/rianjohnson/status/938314810290302977
The resemblance is spot-on.
This article will be updated as more cameos are confirmed.