Star Wars: The Last Jedi is completely done and in the can. Now it's just a matter of waiting for the movie to actually hit theaters on December 15. In order to help satiate our appetites, a brand new behind-the-scenes video from the set of Star Wars: The Last Jedi has been released. And it's jaw-dropping. Director Rian Johnson looks like a very talented kid playing in a big sandbox as he works on the follow-up to The Force Awakens. Speaking about his sequel, Johnson reveals that he's going to put the characters "through a meat grinder" in Star Wars 8. Here's what he had to say.

"When I first read the script of The Force Awakens, I was like, 'I feel like I know these characters instantly.' And now we get to kind of put them through a meat grinder. (Laughs) And for me, part of that meant that we had to make things as hard on each of them as possible: At least part of the movie, they don't have their friends around. They've got to figure things out for themselves. They've got to be faced with whatever the toughest thing each of them can be faced with, and they're not going to have their buddy there next to them to get them out of it necessarily."

Rian Johnson also commented on Finn having to go undercover within the First Order, saying that he sort of freaks. He thinks about his own choices if forced into this situation, explaining that he's right their with Finn's decision to question his fate, "I would if I were him. Just think of the moral courage it took, and how much just physically it took, to get away from the First Order." He also talked a bit about Poe and his relationship to Leia. As he tells it, Leia sort of sees him as the eventual, future leader of the Resistance.

"Yeah, I think so. He's also got some growing to do. Poe's got to grow. She definitely saw that potential in him and in The Last Jedi, we dig into that more. We've seen how heroic he is and now we're going to see him challenged in terms of stepping up to the next level. It takes more than heroics to be a leader, or so I'm told."

Not that anyone wants to think about this, but Leia isn't going to be in Star Wars 9 since, tragically, Carrie Fisher passed away last year. So the Resistance will need a new leader. And there's a chance she may (or may not) die in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Rian Johnson acknowledges that, as the press ramps for the movie, it's going to be tough for everyone to process Fisher's death.

"Having these scenes in the film recontextualize tragically with her not being here anymore, it's incredibly emotional. For the next few months, seeing the fans .... process the loss and celebrate her as Leia one last time, it's going to be intense. I think it's going to be really sad but really joyful, I hope. She really kicks (butt) as General Leia, and I'm happy for that."

Disney and Lucasfilm are doing their best to keep this movie's biggest secrets under wraps until it arrives in theaters. So far, they appear to be doing a pretty fine job. But this video does a great job of getting fans excited without having to give away too much. Be sure to check out the brand new Star Wars: The Last Jedi behind-the-scenes video, courtesy of USA Today, for yourself below.

http://www.usatoday.com/videos/embed/106958746/