Star Wars: Episode VIII - 8 Biggest Reveals From Celebration Europe You Need To Know

5. The Films They Watched In Preparation Promise Classic Star Wars

It's incredibly common for directors to show their cast and crew movies that have inspired the film to convey the tone they're going for, and it sounds like as a filmmaker Rian Johnson really steers into this; the list of films he and the crew watched to prep is lengthy and seismic.

Included were Letter Never Sent, Bridge Over The River Kwai, Hooper, Sahara (Gregory Peck, not McConaughey) and The Dambusters, although the most revealing (by Johnson's own admission) was Twelve O'Clock High; allegedly the feel of the World War II bomber story runs through the film more than he even expected.

This is incredibly reassuring about the film's direction; the dogfights in the original Star Wars were essentially shot-for-shot remakes of classic WWII fighter films, so to have the series going back to that well (especially on its fortieth anniversary), feels right.