Whether you consider it maddeningly frustrating or a blessing in disguise, the silence surrounding Star Wars: Episode VIII is deafening – particularly when compared to the production timeline of The Force Awakens, which already released its official title and first teaser by this stage in development.
Sure, there have been narrative morsels peppered here and there, but fans are frothing for something truly tangible – a teaser trailer, a clue to the sequel’s title – to whet their appetite for the 2017 sequel. There’s still nothing to report on either front, but let it be known that the radio silence in no way represents a lack of progress – or worse, internal trouble – for director Rian Johnson has revealed to USA Today that the official title for Star Wars: Episode VIII was locked in long before the cameras started rolling: “It was in the very first draft I wrote.”
Poised to pick up directly where The Force Awakens left off, some of the alleged titles that have been kicking around for Episode VIII include Star Wars: Fall of the Resistance. A fairly bland moniker by any standard, Disney and Lucasfilm have kept things hush-hush ever since, but surely an official announcement is right around the corner – to coincide with the rumored trailer reveal in April, perhaps?
Speaking broadly about the upcoming sequel, Rian Johnson went on to talk about his unabiding love for Disney’s space opera, and why Episode VIII will channel the Star Wars spirit of old: “I want it to be a blast and to be funny and to be a ride the way The Force Awakens and the original Star Wars movies were.”
Star Wars: Episode VIII is currently earmarked for December 15, 2017. Its forebear, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, has amassed a whopping $912 million worldwide, becoming the second highest-grossing Star Wars film in history after The Force Awakens.