6 Things We Learned About 'Star Wars: Episode VIII' at Star Wars Celebration Europe
While we didn't get an official title for "Star Wars: Episode VIII," the powers that be did offer up a few choice details about the 2017 installment during the Future Filmmakers panel at this year's Star Wars Celebration Europe.
Here are six things you should probably know about the highly anticipated next chapter of in the "Star Wars" saga.
1. For the first time in "Star Wars" history, this movie will start right where the previous one left off. So get ready to see what went down between Luke (Mark Hamill) and Rey (Daisy Ridley) immediately after "The Force Awakens" ended.
2. Writer-director Rian Johnson started production on "Episode VIII" while "The Force Awakens" was still being filmed. He only knew what was going on in the movie from dailies.
3. To prepare for production, Johnson watched very specific movies. "12 O'clock High," "Bridge on the River Kwai," and "Three Outlaw Samurai" were just a few. He said "12 O'Clock High" is the one that influenced "Episode VIII" the most.
4. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" director Gareth Edwards makes a fun cameo in the movie.
5. We'll get to know Rey, Finn (John Boyega), Poe (Oscar Isaac), and the rest of the characters a little bit better. According to Johnson, "Episode VIII" will be "zooming in on the characters, challenging them, getting deeper."
6. Finn is (probably) not in a coma the whole time. (That's a relief.)
"Star Wars: Episode VIII" is currently slated to hit theaters December 15, 2017.