There was a shift in the force on Monday when news broke about the production of Star Wars: Episode VIII.
There has been a constant buzz among fans since the release of the 7th installment of the Star Wars saga about the sequels. Already going off track of the timeline and releasing news about different spin offs, the Star Wars crew hasn’t spoken about the 8th episode of the main saga. The next movie that will be hitting the screens was presented as Rouge One, depicting the tale of how the rebels stole the Death Star plans, which shifts the timeline to before the original three movies in the saga. But finally the production of Episode 8 has begun, along with some cast changes.
Disney released the first production trailer welcoming fans with a small glimpse of the filming, but revealing nothing more than where The Force Awakens left off. However a post on the official Star Wars page also presented a list of actors that will be joining the series. Now Benicio Del Toro, Laura Dern and Kelly Marie Tran will be joining Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Mark Hamill, and others alongside new director Rian Johnson for the new movie.
Actors Hamill and Boyega took to twitter to tease fans, but also didn’t share much, which instantly caused fans to speculate what the new roles could be. But the most shocking inclusion comes from actress Kelly Marie Tran. Generally an unknown actress, this will be Tran’s most prominent role in her portfolio so far. The young UCLA grad began in musicals and trained with improv groups. Tran has also gone on to work in and on many webseries, and her passion for acting is definitely present. Dern’s participation also took many by surprise but the veteran actress brings plenty of potential to the project. Benicio Del Toro however has been rumored for months about joining the cast, and fans have taken no time to insinuate that the acclaimed actor will be joining the Sith. The presence of an indomitable villain is key for the Star Wars saga and Del Toro’s portfolio speaks for itself on whether the actor could handle the Dark Side. But at the moment everything about the actors’ involvement are just fan-based rumors, because the producers have always kept their lips sealed about any news.
Production started February 15th and Episode 8 is set to hit theaters December 15th 2017, but until then Rogue One will be in theaters this December to bridge the excitement for the next year.
