Star Wars Episode 8: 10 Predictions You Need To Know
Is Benicio Del Toro playing someone we've already met? Will there be Force Ghosts?
Star Wars Episode VIII has an awful lot to prove. The Force Awakens relaunched the series in style, and Rogue One presented the case that cinema-goers will flock to that galaxy far, far away even when there isn't a whiff of a lightsaber in the trailers, but Episode VIII is the deal-breaker.
For now, a veil of mystery looms large over the film, and the enthusiastic audience is devouring every morsel of information that slips through.
Expectations are high and theories are everywhere, as fans try to piece together an image of what Episode VIII will look like.
Here are ten massive predictions, based on the latest intel...
10. It Won’t Be As Dark As The Empire Strikes Back
After The Force Awakens regurgitated the plot points of A New Hope practically beat for beat, a fear began to grow that the whole sequel trilogy would just be a retread of previous movies. A fear that led to anger in some quarters, which everyone knows is a path to the dark side.
Thankfully, Johnson doesn't seem to be mining The Empire Strikes Back, at least in a tonal sense. "I want it to be a blast and to be funny and to be a ride," the Episode VIII director told USA Today recently. And although Yoda's debut brought some humour to The Empire Strikes Back, it's hardly 'the fun one.' Luke's cave vision, Han being frozen in carbonite and Vader's limb-chopping in the third act ensured that Empire is remembered as the darkest Star Wars Episode.
It seems inevitable that there will be some Jedi training scenes in Episode VIII, and maybe a parental revelation towards the end, but beyond that, it sounds like this new film won't echo the original Star Wars sequel too much. That's a relief, because imitating great films can only get you so far.