There is not much news coming from the next installment of Star Wars Episode VIII directed by Rian Johnson. We know that the film will pick up directly after the events of The Force Awakens, but other than that, details are sparse. The few tidbits about the film that have leaked out, come to us through members of the cast, who are adamant that Episode VIII will be a darker chapter in the Star Wars story.
According to Adam Driver via an interview with Collider, Star Wars Episode VIII will be different tonally than The Force Awakens:
Rian is coming into something that we kind of set up and he just took it to the next level in a really great way. He wrote it, too, and Rian’s writing is so clear. I learned a lot of things about my character through his writing. Some things we talked about before and some things we didn’t. He was working on [the script] while we were still working on the first one. To understand what J.J. was doing and take ownership from there is kind of a remarkable thing. …
It’s similar to how The Empire Strikes Back has a different tone. For that people always go “oooh, it’s dark” but I don’t know that it necessarily is. It’s just different in tone in a way that I think is great and necessary but also very clear. He trusts [that] his audience is ready for nuance and ambiguity. He’s not dumbing anything down for someone and that’s really fun to play.
Does this necessarily mean that we will get a darker tale? Not necessarily, but it does mean that things will be different. We know that J.J. Abrams was just setting up the future Star Wars universe in The Force Awakens, to the disdain of many fans. The film was received well, but some cried foul when they felt that Starkiller Base resembled another Death Star. Can you really have too many Death Stars? I don’t think so. The Force Awakens felt familiar to me, which is something I really needed in the wake of the disappointing Star Wars Prequels.
What do you think Episode VIII has in store for Finn and Rey?
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