MostStar Warsfans are still riding pretty high from the excitement that came withRogue One: A Star Wars Story, but as the high winds down, more attention is being directed atStar Wars: Episode VIII. We don’t know much about the movie right now. In fact, we don’t even know thetitle, but directorRian Johnsondoes and he has for quite some time now.
The director, who also wrote the script for the next installment of theStar Warssaga, recently spoke withUSA Todayabout the follow-up toStar Wars: The Force Awakensand naturally, the movie’s title came up. As it turns out,Rian Johnsonhas known what the title will be forStar Wars: Episode VIIIfor a long time and he is just as eager to get it out into the world as we are to know what it is. Here is what he had to say about it.
“It was in the very first draft I wrote. I’ll just blurt it out right now! All in good time, my friend.”
We probably won’t have to wait all that much longer to find out what the title is, since Lucasfilm PresidentKathleen Kennedyindicated that trailer for the movie would debut aroundStar WarsCelebration, which will take place in April. We have had some possible title leaks, but nothing concrete. Early last year there were two rumored titles which wereStar Wars: Echoes of the Dark SideandStar Wars: The Tale of the Jedi Temple. The former seems more in line with theStar Warsfranchise, but the latter seems too generic, if possibly fitting, to be the real title. More recently, the titleStar Wars: Forces of Destinymade the rounds since Disney reportedly filed a trademark for the name, but that could be for any number of upcoming projects. No matter what it is,Rian Johnsonhas known the title from very early on in the process, which means it probably was generated from the story as opposed to being tacked on afterward.
To say that anticipation is very high forStar Wars 8would seem to be a pretty big understatement, but following Carrie Fisher’s recent, untimely passing at the age of 60, the anticipation is only more inflated. We now know that this will be her last appearance as Princess Leia, which is very sad but has also complicated things since she was supposed to be a big part ofStar Wars 9as well. Disney and Lucasfilm are currently having meetings to try and figure out the best course of action to take in regards to Princess Leia in the future. There is no telling how that will ultimately affectStar Wars 8, but it certainly won’t have any bearing on the title. Though, it could wind up changing some of her scenes to accommodate the next movie.
Fans who are growing impatient should be on the lookout for thenext episodeofMark Hamill’sPop Culture Quest, because it was recently revealed that a “first look” atStar Wars: Episode VIIIwould be debuting on the show. It seems likely the title thatRian Johnsonis holding onto could be revealed. The cast for the movie includesDaisy Ridley,John Boyega,Adam Driver,Domhnall Gleeson,Oscar Isaac,Carrie Fisher,Benicio Del Toro,Laura Dern,Gwendoline Christie,Andy Serkis,Lupita Nyong’OandMark Hamill.Episode VIIIis written and directed byRian Johnsonand is set for release on December 15.
