Rian Johnson said filming 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' was overwhelming.

Rian Johnson

Rian Johnson

The 43-year-old filmmaker helmed the upcoming eighth movie in the sci-fi franchise, and during a behind-the-scenes look at the highly anticipated film, Johnson said he had some "holy crap" moments while filming.

In the exclusive footage, Johnson said: "Walking up the ramp, walking through the hallway, I get flashbacks to when I was a kid with the action figures.

"Suddenly I had a big lump in my throat. Just so happy. You know it gets ya.

"[This is the] first time shooting with Mark, first time shooting with Daisy, first time shooting a 'Star Wars' movie and you know it's some cool stuff.

"There's a weird that happens when it's being built and when you first show up you are kind of overwhelmed by it all and you get into the nitty gritty of working on it and naturally that level of it goes away and you find yourself just focused on making the scene work, getting the shots, and once in a while you're taking a little break and you look around and you get the holy crap again."

'The Last Jedi' is set to feature a number of returning cast members, including 'Star Wars' legend Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), John Boyega (Finn), Daisy Ridley (Rey), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Lupita Nyong'o (Maz Kanata), Gwendoline Christie (Captain Phasma), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Andy Serkis (Snoke), Domhnall Gleeson (General Lux) and the late Carrie Fisher as General Leia.

While Benicio Del Toro, Laura Dern and Kelly Marie Tran are all newcomers to the franchise.

During the behind-the-scenes video, Ridley said that the filmmaker is doing "unexpected things" and "taking characters in new directions".

'The Last Jedi' will start directly after the events of 'The Force Awakens' which saw Han Solo (Harrison Ford) get killed by his own son Kylo Ren.

But despite being dead, Johnson also hinted that Han Solo's death will play a major part in the plot as a "figurative ghost".

He said: "A figurative ghost of Han had to be present throughout this entire film."