Los Angeles, Dec 5 (IANS): "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" director Rian Johnson and the cast feel the movie is heading to a darker and more intimate place.

Johnson and the stars of the film spoke about the next chapter in the "Star Wars" franchise at a press event here that took place after the cast had a chance to see the final cut of the movie, reports cnet.com.

Johnson particularly emphasised his plan to dive deeper into the story kicked off in 2015's "The Force Awakens".

"I think we've been kind of trained to expect it will be a little darker and obviously it looks a littler darker. We're going to go to some intense places in the movie but I hope also it's fun," Johnson said.

He added that "... The Last Jedi" will also keep a bigger focus on the perspectives of lead characters like Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Rey (Daisy Ridley), with less time covering the story from the perspectives of droids C-3PO and R2-D2 as has been the case in previous "Star Wars" trilogies.

Andy Serkis, who plays Supreme Leader Snoke, said he was blown away by what came together.

"I was so caught up with it not least because it was really intimate and very emotional and I wasn't expecting that at all. It's very very powerful, and it touches you," cnet.com quoted Serkis as saying.

Hamill, who returns as Luke Skywalker, said that Johnson really pushed him out of his comfort zone for this movie.

"My line in the script that epitomized my reaction more than anything, 'This is not going to go the way you think,'" Hamill said.

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" also features late actress Carrie Fisher, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o and Laura Dern. The film is scheduled to release worldwide on December 15.