There has been an awakening, have you felt it? Of course you have; after all, Star Wars: The Force Awakens shattered box office records across the board when J.J. Abrams’ franchise revival soared past $2 billion at the worldwide box office.
But there could be another awakening by the time Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: Episode VIII tumbles off Disney’s production line in 2017 – one involving Mark Hamill’s all-powerful Luke Skywalker?
Revealed during the final sequence of The Force Awakens, Hamill’s wayward hero has spent years (decades?) at the First Jedi Temple (Ahch-To) only to receive a surprise visit from Daisy Ridley’s Rey.
Armed with Luke’s lightsaber, Abrams’ sequel leaves us with the enticing possibility that Hamill’s Jedi will unleash the Force come Episode VIII. And according to one Reddit user (via Comic Book) citing sources close to production, an early sequence of Rian Johnson’s follow-up involves an explosive set piece between Luke, Rey and Kylo Ren.
“A few weeks ago they blew up– specifically, blew apart– an Ahch-To hut. According to my source, Kylo and Rey have a conversation that Luke does not like. Luke tries to stop them. Luke gets angry… and the whole hut they are in disintegrates (re: ‘blows up’). My source did not specify as to the exact cause of the disintegration, but based on the info I believe Luke accidentally (or perhaps even purposely) does so using the Force.)”
Treat this with heightened caution, of course, particularly given that said source misspelt Ahch-To earlier in the report. Plus, the notion that Kylo Ren appears out of the ether – without laying eyes on the complete interstellar map projected by BB-8 and R2-D2 – reads as a contrived plot device. Nevertheless, we’ll keep our readers updated as this develops.
Star Wars: Episode VIII makes a beeline for theaters on December 17, 2017.
