Star Wars Episode VIII Actors Teasing Script and Start of Production
With Star Wars: Episode VIII due to start principal photography in February 2016, the actors [...]
With Star Wars: Episode VIII due to start principal photography in February 2016, the actors involved with the film have started taking to social media to tease the film.
"Just read Ep VIII" Anthony Daniels teased in a tweet. Of course, that should be taken with a grain of salt, as he also tweeted, "and thought I'd share the story with you because I know you can't wait to hear it too. You do want to hear it. Don't you?"
Just read Ep VIII and thought I'd share the story with you because I know you can't wait to hear it too. You do want to hear it. Don't you?
— Anthony Daniels (@ADaniels3PO) January 29, 2016
The script, if it's anything like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is likely being kept under lock and key, and only being read in controlled situations. That's what actress Gwendoline Christie told ComicBook.com about her experiences with it shortly before the film hit.
"There's obviously a shroud of secrecy surrounding everything," she said. "When working on the script, you worked on it at Pinewood Studios, locked in a room!" She said that secrecy helped contribute a "childlike excitement" to the production, though. Other actors talked on late night shows and press conferences about having to be physically on location, and under supervision, to see their scripts, as well.
Daisy Ridley, meanwhile, is playing the return of Rey for Episode VIII much more cryptically. The actress posted an image of flowers on Instagram, with a note attached to it that had the "VIII" in the classic Star Wars font on top, and a message welcoming her return, apparently signed by Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.
Ridley's only written comment on the image? "#VIII".
Star Wars: Episode VIII, with its as-yet-unreleased final title, is being written and directed by Rian Johnson (Looper) and will continue the stories of Rey, Finn, and Poe, along with the villainous Kylo Ren and other returning characters from both the newest film and the legacy movies. The release date for the film was recently moved from May to December 15, 2017 after the record-breaking successful release of The Force Awakens. Between the two episodic films, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will release in December 2016, telling the tale of an elite Rebel squad stealing the Death Star plans before the events of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.