Greetings everyone.
I’m a fan from way back. Stood in line for an hour at age 14 to see A New Hope on its 3rd day out.
Last year I became interested, not to say obsessed with, Skellig Michael – the Irish island that is primary stand-in for Ahch-To in The Force Awakens (and is reputed to get lots more screen action in The Last Jedi). I visited the island and found it one of the most intriguing pieces of rock I’d ever stood upon.
I came home and started to read up on Skellig’s history. I learned that a real-life person, with many Jedi-like qualities, once lived in utter solitude just above the site of Luke and Rey’s first meeting, high on the cliffs of Skellig Michael’s South Peak. Apparently the creative teams from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi have no idea of this astonishing coincidence.
My research also took me down a couple of Star Wars rabbit holes. I discovered the world of fan edits and the search for authenticity. I read emails between representatives of DisneyLucasfilm and the various parties that negotiated the Skellig location shoots. The first Skellig shoot was nearly cancelled due to environmental considerations, and appears to have been approved only because an unnamed high ranking political figure pulled strings to make it happen.
I returned to Skellig in 2017, climbed South Peak and saw the dwelling place of this real-life Last Jedi.
First Monk, Last Jedi: a Pilgrimage to Skellig Michael is live on Amazon.com.
I’m extremely excited to share this work with the fan community.
https://www.amazon.com/First-Monk-Last-Jedi-Pilgrimage-ebook/dp/B0787135JN/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1513186002&sr=1-3&keywords=barron+brown
