‘Star Wars’ Episode 8: Everything We Know About ‘The Last Jedi’ So Far

Grab your light sabers and brace for battle, “Star Wars” fans. The franchise is slated to return in December with Episode 8 — the official title of which was announced on Monday.

In a tweet, the official account associated with “Star Wars” revealed that the next chapter in “the Skywalker saga,” as they’ve dubbed it, will be “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” Accompanying the tweet was a poster with the title set against a dark starry sky as well as the release month. The film will hit theaters Dec. 15, 2017, as previously announced.

“The Last Jedi” will be followed by “Episode IX,” which has yet to receive a title. Unlike “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” the first standalone film in the “Star Wars” franchise, both “The Last Jedi” and “Episode IX” are expected to pick up after “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Both films will star the surviving characters from the one before it and will center around Rey’s (Daisey Ridley) quest to understand and harness the force while also uncovering the truth about her lineage and battling Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and the rest of the dark side.

The studio released no further details about the plot of “The Last Jedi,” but there’s plenty floating around the internet to tide “Star Wars” fans over until December 2017. Here’s everything we know about the film so far:

Cast

“The Last Jedi” will bring back Rey, Kylo Ren, Po (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), BB8, R2D2. C3PO and more. It will also feature Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), despite the actress having died on Dec. 27, 2016. TMZ reported that Fisher had completed filming for her portion of the film prior to having suffered a heart attack that later claimed her life.

Kathleen Kennedy, President of Lucasfilm, made the official announcement about the returning characters in December 2015 while chatting with BANG Showbiz (via Daily Mail). She also revealed that “a handful” of new characters would debut during “The Last Jedi.”

“There will be a handful of new cast members in ‘Episode VIII’ but also all the cast members you see here tonight will be in it as well,” Kennedy said.

New Stars

In July 2015, Benicio Del Toro announced in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that he was appearing in “The Last Jedi.” He couldn’t reveal much about the film at the time, so it was not clear whether he was portraying someone on the light or dark side. An early report from The Wrap suggested he was playing a villain, but his interview has left some questioning that initial claim.

“It’s nice to keep people in the dark, a little bit of mystery is good,” Del Toro said. “If they want to believe it’s the villain, then good.”

Trailers

No trailer has been released for “The Last Jedi.” It is not clear whether Disney and LucasFilm are holding out for the last second or simply don’t intend to put one out, though some of the film’s stars would prefer the latter. Driver, for example, told CinemaBlend he thought it would be “bold” of the studios not to release a trailer. He suggested that doing so would make seeing the film “more exciting,” because viewers wouldn’t know what to expect.

“I think that’d be bold I’d love it, yeah!” Driver said. “Then no one would know anything. The less people know, I feel like, the more exciting…the more of an event it is.”

Director

As previously revealed, J.J. Abrams will be stepping away as director on “The Last Jedi.” Instead, the film will be helmed by Rian Johnson. This is his first attempt at directing a “Star Wars” film, though he has had plenty of industry experience. The director previously worked on shows like “Breaking Bad.” Abrams called Johnson “a spectacular writer and director,” praising the script for the film.

“When Rian, who I admire enormously and adore, came on board, we met and talked with him about all the things we were working on and playing with,” Abrams told /Film. “And he is a spectacular writer and director has taken those things and has written an AMAZING script that I think will be an incredible next chapter, some of which is incorporating things we were thinking of and other things are things we could have never dreamed of.”

Plot

In a Jan. 9, interview with USA Today, Johnson confirmed that much of “The Last Jedi” will center around Rey and Luke’s relationship, though viewers should expect to learn more about all the heroes they were first introduced to in “The Force Awakens.” Johnson assured that this would be done in more ways than one, though he couldn’t give too much away.

“I wanted to know more about each of them, and that doesn’t just mean information or backstory,” he said. “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.”

Johnson teased a new, strong connection to be formed between Luke and Rey in the film as well. He assured viewers that “The Last Jedi” would pick up right where the last left off, and we do mean that literally. The film’s director said that much of their relationship will be molded by the expectations Rey’s got in her head of what Luke knows and is capable of.

“It very much feels like what we all go through in adolescence, the dawning of this new chapter of our lives,” he said, adding that “The Last Jedi” is “a huge part of especially Rey’s character.”

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is slated to release in Dec. 15, 2017. The film was initially slated to hit theaters in May, but was pushed back due to filming delays.