In 2015 and 2016, the cast and crew of Star Wars: The Last Jedi arrived in Ireland to film scenes at a number of locations along the Atlantic coast.

As well as a return to Skellig Michael - which appeared in The Force Awakens - shooting also took place elsewhere in Co Kerry, alongside locations in Donegal and Cork.

While there's still half a year to go until the film's premiere, a new feature as given us a few hints about what to expect from the film's Irish scenes.

In an in-depth preview in Vanity Fair, cast & crew members spoke about their time here.

Director Rian Johnson revealed that Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) - seen only briefly in the closing moments of The Force Awakens - has not been living alone during his time in exile.

Johnson explained the production team "duplicated the beehive-shaped huts where the monks lived on Skellig and made a kind of little Jedi village out of them" on the Dingle peninsula. The description matches some of the photographs snapped during the production.

In the film's fiction, Skywalker has been living with an "indigenous race of caretaker creatures" - but Johnson insisted they are "not Ewoks", referring to the divisive furry creatures seen in Return of the Jedi.

Meanwhile, Hamill himself spoke of returning to Skellig Michael.

The 65-year-old observed: "When I read the script for Episode VIII, I went, ‘Oh my God, we’re going back?’ Because I said I was never going back."

He explained that - despite a strict diet and training to prepare for reprising his most iconic role - he had to stop every 10-15 minutes to rest while climbing to the set on the remote island.

You can read the full feature here - which, alongside new photos by Annie Leibovitz, includes information about new characters, details of new locations and some very fond words about the late Carrie Fisher.

Skellig Michael, meanwhile, featured prominently in the first trailer for the highly-anticipated sequel: