In a recent interview with USA Today, Star Wars Episode VIII director Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper) revealed some information (as vague as it may be) about the highly anticipated eighth Star Wars film. The article first points out that the director is looking more fun tone to the film “I want it to be a blast and to be funny and to be a ride the way The Force Awakens and the original Star Wars movies were,” he says. Many fans have speculated that VIII, like Empire Strikes Back, might be a bit darker, but that’s clearly not the case.
He also promises that we will get a bit more backstory to the Star Wars newcomers Rey, Finn, and Poe. “I wanted to know more about each of them, and that doesn’t just mean information or backstory,” Johnson says. “Figure out what’s the most difficult thing each of them could be challenged with now — let’s throw that at them and dig into what really makes them tick by seeing how they handle that.”
Johnson also stated that the film will explore the relationship between Luke and Rey, who, at the end of Force Awakens, showed up with Luke’s lightsaber “both not knowing what’s going to happen and also having a lot of expectations in her head about how this is going to go,” Johnson says. “It very much feels like what we all go through in adolescence, the dawning of this new chapter of our lives.” He also added that like it’s predecessors, the family theme in Episode VIII is “a huge part of especially Rey’s character, something that was a really powerful part of her setup and something I really wanted to dig into with this.”
The director also added that Luke Skywalker is the “emotional entry point” into Episode VIII. “I’m approaching it with a take that I hope feels honest and real and is going to be interesting to folks and make sense.” And as far as a title? “It was in the very first draft I wrote,” though we won’t be getting it just yet. “All in good time, my friend.”