While J.J. Abrams and company shoot Star Wars: Episode VII here in the UK, Brick and Looper director Rian Johnson is busy hammering away at development on the second chapter of Disney’s Star Wars sequel trilogy, and during an interview with TalkHouse Podcast (via The Playlist), Johnson has spoken about his excitement at venturing to a galaxy far, far away for Star Wars: Episode VIII….
“I’m just starting into it, but so far it’s been nothing but…honestly, it’s the most fun I’ve ever had writing. It’s just joyous. The first movies I was making in my head were part of this world, so part of it is a direct connection – it’s almost like an automatic jacking-in into childhood in a weird way… I’m figuring it out as I go. I’m dancing on top of the avalanche a little bit. But it’s a challenge of remembering what inspires you about [the original films], but I think you can probably go to the wrong place by feeling too responsible to it. You have to keep your head loose enough to tell a story you actually care about.”
Johnson also went on to discuss the responsibility he feels taking on an iconic franchise such as Star Wars, stating that: “Well, that’s been the great thing about it —Kathleen and her whole creative team have been so insistent on all the filmmakers they’ve been hiring for these new movies: ‘We want you to take it and turn it into something that you really care about.’ And we’ll see how the process plays out, but so far, that’s a big part of the reason I’m [doing the film]. Because that just seems like their attitude towards it. It’s really exciting actually.”
Star Wars: Episode VII is set for release in December 2015, with Episode VIII expected to follow in 2017.
Originally published September 19, 2014. Updated November 7, 2019.
