Star Wars Episode VIII: "Everyone Gets Tested," Says Oscar Isaac

And we don't think he means they're going back to school.

By Ben Bussey /

LucasFilm

Just about everyone involved in Star Wars Episode VIII seems to be singing the same tune: it's going to be darker than The Force Awakens.

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This seems natural enough; as was widely noted, Episode VII made a point of hitting pretty much all the main story beats of the 1977 original Star Wars (or A New Hope, if you prefer to call it that), so it's entirely logical that its follow-up would be more along the lines of The Empire Strikes Back.

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Poe Dameron actor Oscar Isaac reaffirms this - whilst, unsurprisingly, giving absolutely nothing away plot-wise:

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"In the new film, there's a lot more to do. What happens now is the heroes get tested. All three of them get tested immensely."

Nor does it end there...

"BB-8's doing all right. BB-8 gets tested too! Everybody gets tested! It's the dark second chapter, but not really dark."

Ah, that tricky line between 'dark, but not really dark' - I daresay most disagreements over Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice hinge on that one.

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Given the irrepressible optimism displayed by Isaac's Poe throughout The Force Awakens, it's hard to envisage the character falling into too dark a place. Nonetheless, it'll be interesting to see him put through the wringer.

It's of course worth noting that things very nearly took a much darker turn for Poe, as originally he wasn't meant to survive the early crash in The Force Awakens, hence he's out of the picture so long.

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In production, the as-yet untitled eighth Star Wars opens December 2017.