Episode VIII: Rian Johnson Talks Title, New Heroes and Luke Skywalker

In a new interview, Rian Johnson opened up about the secret subtitle for Star Wars: Episode VIII and Luke Skywalker’s role in the film.

As discussed yesterday, Episode VIII opens in theaters this December. This means we’ll slowly be ushered into Star Wars palooza again. Unlike Rogue One, another entry in the saga earns a lot more press. Especially when it means giving Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) a proper amount of screentime again. It’ll be just like the old days! Except now, Luke’s screentime will be divided among a new (and diverse) trio of heroes.

While speaking with USA Today, Episode VIII director Rian Johnson expanded on what we’ll see happen later this year after we return to Ahch-To. Obviously, Luke’s been in some turmoil following Kylo Ren’s fall to the dark side. Johnson describes the Jedi as the “emotional entry point” and admits, “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”. Unfortunately, Luke has a lot more to deal with besides losing his padawans. There’s still the matter of Han Solo’s death and training Rey (Daisy Ridley).

When the film picks up, Rey meets Luke at a time when neither know “what’s going to happen” and with her “having a lot of expectations in her head about how this is going to go.” Of course, a number of things changed for Rey in The Force Awakens. She went from being a scavenger on Jakku to joining the Resistance and being able to influence others with her mind.

From The Force Awakens. Via Disney/Lucasfilm.

According to Johnson, “It very much feels like what we all go through in adolescence, the dawning of this new chapter of our lives.” And though Rey may never be reunited with her family, “familial themes” will be “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.”

So, Rey … Skywalker, right? Who wants to start fighting about this in the comments? My money’s on Rey Binks.

However, Johnson also reminded us that The Force Awakens wasn’t just about Rey. Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) blew up Starkiller Base and Finn (John Boyega) helped. So, it was important to the director to “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.”

For Finn, it may be discovering he can no longer walk. Or that he has mechanical legs, because nobody wants a depressing Star Wars film. You can trust that Johnson’s going to keep things fairly light: “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.”

But as for that title? It’ll be shared “in good time” and apparently, Johnson included it on the very first draft. Who knows, maybe the Episode VIII title is what Mark Hamill plans to reveal soon.

Episode VIII hits theaters on Dec. 15.