Rian Johnson Talks Luke and Rey in ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’

With Rogue One: A Star Wars Story now in its fourth week in theaters, it’s already time to start shifting our attention to the next chapter in the Skywalker Saga, Star Wars: Episode VIII, due out next Holiday season.

The Force Awakens was rather cryptic with its explanation of Luke Skywalkers self-imposed exile but the sequel’s director Rian Johnson offered up a few interesting tidbits telling USA Today “a large part of the of the movie” will be spent addressing why Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamil) is on Ahch-To —  the planet believed to be home to the first Jedi temple — and what he’s going to do next.

The film will also focus on how Luke and Rey (Daisy Ridley) relate to one another. Johnson added:

“Part of what’s she’s dealing with is the realization that she has this power and this gift. She’s taking her first step to coming to terms with this thing inside her that she never knew was there and is just starting to reveal its potential.”

The last we saw Rey she was holding out Luke’s father’s lightsaber as her plea for him to return to the galaxy with her to restore balance to the force shifted into a demand. Rather than jump ahead a few years, Johnson reassured fans Episode VIII will break Star Wars tradition and pick up right where The Force Awakens left off:

“I don’t want to skip ahead two years. I want to see the very next moment of what happens.”

With Episode VIII already in the can, including Carrie Fisher’s scenes, Lucasfilm has begun to look to the future in order to develop a plan to rework the story for Episode IX due to the untimely death of the franchise’s beloved Princess.

Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow will meet this week with Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy to weigh out the options of how to alter the storyline in a way that not only serves the franchise best but also honors the memory of Carrie Fisher.

Insiders told THR that at least two major scenes from the upcoming films will be affected including (spoiler warning) a reunion between Princess Leia and her brother, Luke Skywalker, and a confrontation between Leia and her son, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), over the murder of his father, Leia’s husband, Han Solo (Harrison Ford).

Star Wars: Episode VIII hits theaters December 15, 2017.

The film stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie, Benicio del Toro, Laura Dern, Kelly Marie Tran, and Andy Serkis. Written and directed by Rian Johnson.

SOURCE: USA TODAY

Why Obi-Wan Kenobi Can’t Be Rey’s Father

Continuing on her press tour promoting the new documentary The Eagle Huntress for which she serves as executive producer, actress Daisy Ridley offered a clue as to when we might get to learn the parentage of her character Rey, who was introduced to audiences last Christmas in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

When asked by Vulture about the fan-theory that Obi-Wan Kenobi is Rey’s father, Ridley had this to say:

We will see in a year. Just sit tight on that question.

Sounds like we will definitely be getting the answer in a year when Episode VIII hits theaters. But there is one thing I can tell you for sure, Rey’s father is most certainly not Obi-Wan Kenobi.

What we know:

The Force Awakens is set 32 years after Return of the Jedi, the end of the classic trilogy which spanned 6 years in the timeline — making it a total of 38 years since the death of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. At the time of The Force Awakens, Rey is 19 years old, which means she would not be conceived for another 19 years after Obi-Wan’s death so it would be impossible for the Jedi Master to be her father unless he donated to a galactic sperm bank before his demise.

What makes sense:

While some signs point to Luke Skywalker being the father of Rey, there is a bigger chance that Rey is actually a vergence in the force. A vergence or nexus point was a phenomenon of the force that was centered on a place or around an object, and in some rare cases a person.

“I have encountered a vergence in the Force.”
“Located around a person?”

―Qui-Gon Jinn and Mace Windu on the discovery of Anakin Skywalker.

When the force is out of balance, the force itself will create a vergence to restore balance between the light and the dark. With the dark side rising with Snoke and Kylo Ren — and Luke in exile on Ahch-To, it’s possible that Rey was created with the purpose of finding Luke and restoring balance to the force in the galaxy together.

SOURCE: VULTURE

Daisy Ridley on Rey/Jyn Erso Theory

Daisy Ridley is making the rounds promoting her new documentary “The Eagle Huntress” which she served as the executive producer and narrator for. When speaking with Yahoo! Daisy was asked what she thought about the fan theories online which speculate that Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) is actually the mother of Rey.

I don’t know. That’ll be interesting when I see Rogue One. But I don’t watch things and think in that way. So I think I’m just gonna watch it and be blown away.

For those wondering, there is very little chance that Jyn is the mother of Rey. At the time of Rogue One, Rey would not be born for another twenty years at least. The character of Rey is only nineteen years old in The Force Awakens which takes place thirty-two years after Return of the Jedi. Rogue takes place just before the classic trilogy which spans six years in the timeline. By the time Rey would be born, Jyn would most likely be in menopause.

On top of that, if there was ever any intention of Jyn being her mother, Lucasfilm would have already started planting the easter eggs to allude to that connection. As of now, there are only minor suggestions that Luke Skywalker could be her father but they are countered by just as much evidence that he is not her father. For me personally, the only clue I take seriously in regards to Rey’s parentage is at the very end of The Force Awakens end credits during John Williams’ incredible score when the force theme calls out only for Rey’s theme to answer it.

To read the full interview with Daisy including her thoughts on Felicity Jones as she embarks on the whirlwind of a press tour for Rogue similar to what Daisy experienced last year, head on over to Yahoo!

SOURCE: YAHOO!

Felicity Jones on ‘Rogue One’ Reshoots

 

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, actress Felicity Jones discusses her upcoming films Inferno, A Monster Calls, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Only two short months from now Jones will lead Lucasfilm into their first outing from the Skywalker saga with the experimental spin-off.

The film tells the story of Jyn Erso (Jones) and a band of rebel spies as they embark on a mission to steal the plans of the original Death Star described in the first paragraph of the opening crawl to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Rogue will serve as a direct prequel to the original classic and lead right up to the moments before Princess Leia’s Tantive IV is captured by Darth Vader’s Star Destroyer, “The Executor”.

Jones told THR her biggest inspiration for Jyn was Florence Welch of the british rock band Florence + The Machine. She spent hours watching music videos by the group as she crafted who the character was and describes the physicality Florence brings to her performances as her inspiration for the physicality she brought to the role.

So much of Jyn is movement. It became a very important part of finding her. She walks almost a bit like a caged animal. Her fight sequences become like dances.

In the trailers, Jones can be seen as she storms a beach crawling with AT-AT’s. The film has her taking on stormtroopers head to head, leaping from one piece of a set to another, and even coming face to face with a TIE Fighter as she smuggles the plans that the Rebel Alliance will later use when Luke Skywalker makes his attack run on the Death Star.

THR also managed to slide in a burn about the the film’s notorious reshoots which is getting old at this point and is just flat out ignorant. Jones commented on the controversy surrounding the film going back into production this past June.

Obviously when you come to the edit, you see the film come together and you think, ‘Actually, we could do this better, and this would make more sense if we did this. I’ve done it so many times. I mean, you wouldn’t just give your first draft on this story, would you?

Every blockbuster has reshoots.

What may have once been a reaction to pieces of a film not working is now part of the production, built into the schedule and the budget from the beginning. The difference with Rogue and what makes it concerning is that director Tony Gilroy was brought in to handle the reshoots rather than the film’s director Garreth Edwards. There was a lot of talk about Lucasfilm being dissatisfied with the tone of the film saying it wasn’t Star Wars enough. Rogue — from its initial conception was to be a war film. The trailers released for the film thus far evoke vibes of Saving Private Ryan, Platoon, and Apocalypse Now. My fear is that the film will suffer from a tonal clash. One train being derailed by another because of bad feedback from a focus group. At what point does Edwards’ vision and intention become compromised? Will the levity Star Wars is known for mix well with what Edwards has crafted?

To read the full interview with Jones where she also discusses her reluctance to join Inferno as well as the loss of her former co-star Anton Yelchin, head on over to THR.

Rogue One hits theaters December 16, 2016.