The Force has awakened in style. Though it filled a decades-long yearning in fans looking for an authentic Star Wars experience, the over-riding feeling coming out of The Force Awakens was one of questioning. How would the franchise survive the death of an iconic character? Could Kylo Ren be redeemable still after his heinous crime? Where the hell did Maz Kanata go? But for any faults that have been picked out already, the biggest success of The Force Awakens is that it hasn't killed hype for what comes next. With new storylines seeded and new possibilities awakened, the next two years are going to be another period of excitement for Episode VIII. And thanks to some of the hints and planted narrative points in The Force Awakens, we can be fairly certain of some of the things we can expect from the as-yet-unnamed sequel. So what unanswered questions, new plot threads and hints will come back in a big way in Episode VIII?
10. Revenge Of The Surviving Secondary Antagonists
Though there are inevitably some complaints that Captain Phasma was no more than the new Boba Fett (both in terms of massive appeal AND tiny impact), fans should take solace in the fact that she wasn't killed off on screen. Sure, she was headed for a trash compactor, but Gwendoline Christie has already been confirmed to be returning in a couple of ways, so there should be hope that she will return. Given that she was thrown on the fire to give Finn a comedic hero moment, Phasma will want revenge, both personally and professional for his humiliation of her. And with the First Order regrouping as a smaller, angrier group under Snoke, it will be interesting to see how she channels her vengeful spirit. Surprisingly, General Hux also made it out to regroup with Ren and Snoke, despite looking like dead meat for basically the entire film, and we're likely to see another side of him: the scheming wounded animal looking to profit from the removal of the New Republic and to also wipe out the Jedi.
