Update: This story is now confirmed by EW.

In Star Wars: The Last Jedi one of the new worlds is code named or possibly even called “Crait.” The world appears to be a giant salt flat with stretches of large black volcanic rocks. The black rocks look red because there is smoldering lava seeping out of them. It should be noted the setting isn’t like Mustafar from Revenge of the Sith with free-flowing lava. This is why early reports described it as “Mars with snow on it.” The lava is seeping out of the giant rock formations found scattered around the salt flat valleys in between the hot rocky terrain. It still isn’t clear if the white ground is salt or a light dusting of snow, but the white powdery substance collects around the banks of the settlement there and depending on who you talk to it’s snow or salt.

What is significant about the world? In The Last Jedi there is a mine there. The mine from what I’ve been told was used by the Rebels as a secret base and source of funds during the fight against the Empire. During the Resistance era the mine is still producing some type of gem that is used to fund the Resistance. It sounds like it doubles as a way to fund the Resistance and act as a new hidden base for the Resistance after the events of The Force Awakens. It isn’t clear how much of that is pertinent to The Last Jedi but that’s what the rumors were from the set. However, the Resistance having a mine on Crait has been confirmed to us more than once and is a story element we’re confident in.

This is the setting in which the new First Order Heavy Assault Walkers (rumored to be called AT-4Xs as well) attack the Resistance mine. There is a visual effects shot of about ten of the walkers all walking shoulder to shoulder looking very apeish as they approach the mine. The Heavy Assault Walkers attack the mine in The Last Jedi and that’s their big action sequence in the movie. The B-wings we saw out in Bolivia attack the walkers. We heard there’s a shot in the film where some of the gems from the mine are dropped onto some of the walkers by the Resistance ships and they topple some of the walkers.

Prensaimperial.com posted this photo a few weeks back:

One report from Pinewood stated there was a giant “AT-AT” foot built. The ground is identical to the pattern in the salt from the photo above but the foot is stepping near some black rocks with lava showing through them. They actually built the rocks at Pinewood as well and designed lava and hot glowing lava rocks on the stage.

The ship cockpit above was also filmed crashed in the salt flat, burning up and smoldering on the ground. Over the summer of filming we heard the new B-wings were made for the film and they were pretty much the same design, only sleeker and with a slight tail added rear of the design. Nearly all of the reports from Pinewood simply noted the cockpit by itself like the picture above. Many visitors also noted seeing these cockpits around the studio. The cockpit were referred to as “Snow Skis” according to a few reports. It seems pretty clear that the B-wings go up against the new walkers to protect the mine in The Last Jedi.

We heard about a role being cast for a First Order “Snowtrooper Captain” and we have been told the Snowtroopers are used in The Last Jedi, which further complicates the “snow or salt” debate. With that in mind, there is a chance there is a ground battle there between the troops of both forces but it isn’t clear if it takes place in the mine or outside it where the walkers are. But they did build giant walker feet which makes us think we see troops at the feet of the walkers; the crashed B-wings on the flats imply we do have shots from the ground in the conflict so it seems likely we see troops on the ground outside the base to some extent.

Is the new world called “Crete?” It seems too lacking in variation from the real world place and with some historical commonalities with the Minoan Eruption I’m leaning toward it being a placeholder name. Back during Rogue One‘s production we heard “Jeddah” used all the time and it was actually “Jedha” in the film.

I’m really looking forward to seeing B-wings face off against giant walkers to protect a Resistance mine base in The Last Jedi.

Update:

I have been contacted by a few sources to let me know the spelling for the new planet is “Crait.” I was also told to check page 170 of Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide. So I did.

Lieutenant Heff Tobber had been stationed as a transport pilot at the rebels’ Crait outpost prior to its abandonment.

And there it is sitting in canon right under our noses. Sometimes X does mark the spot. I just need the proper spelling for X. It also confirms the idea the rebels were actually there during the Galactic Civil War.

(I edited Crete to read Crait in this article.)