Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson got JJ Abrams to change the ending of The Force Awakens

He asked the director to 'do him a solid'

Filming on Star Wars: The Force Awakens was just getting underway in 2014 when Rian Johnson started work on the script for The Last Jedi. As such, it was pretty late in the day to be making changes, so it was a big ask when Johnson requested a change to the film's ending for director J.J. Abrams.

In honour of Star Wars Day, Johnson revealed what it was to EW:

"The big [favour] was, I asked if R2 could come with Rey, and if BB-8 could stay behind with the Resistance,” Johnson says. “Originally it was BB-8 who went with Rey, which makes sense for the story in a way. But I asked, ‘Can you do me this solid and switch the droids?’”

Abrams obliged, and now he mentions it, it was perhaps odd that BB-8 didn't accompany Rey, the droid having been by her side for most of the film (though fair enough, Luke and R2 have a rich history).

All this doesn't mean BB-8 will be sidelined in The Last Jedi however, serving as resident droid on Poe Dameron's X-Wing.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens in cinemas 15 December, 2017.