While J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens was an enormous success at the box office, one of the biggest criticisms aimed at the film was that it adhered to closely to the plot of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. And, with December’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi said to be taking the characters down a darker route – as well as reportedly revealing “The Most Shocking Truth In Star Wars History” – there has been some concern that the next movie will attempt to be the Empire Strikes Back of the Sequel Trilogy.
The Empire comparison is one that isn’t lost on director Rian Johnson, and speaking to Fandango, the filmmaker has acknowledged that there are some similarities, although he also compares the tone to that of The Force Awakens and Return of the Jedi:
“The temptation is to say, well it’s a middle chapter, so it’s got kind of an Empire thing,” said Johnson. “But at the same time, I really wanted to maintain the same sense of fun that J.J. Abrams had in The Force Awakens, that to some extent in Return of the Jedi, which I was like 10 years old, that was primed for me when that came out, and the sense of playfulness, I think. So when I say Empire, I guess I don’t want to give the impression that it’s kind of dark, doom and gloom. It was also very important to me that this was a fun adventure. It’s a mixed bag of a lot of different stuff. And hopefully some unique stuff too.”
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In Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the Skywalker saga continues as the heroes of The Force Awakens join the galactic legends in an epic adventure that unlocks age-old mysteries of the Force and shocking revelations of the past.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is set for release on December 14th in the UK and December 15th in the States and sees returning cast members Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata), Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Gwendoline Christie (Captain Phasma), Billie Lourd (Lieutenant Connix), Andy Serkis (Supreme Leader Snoke), Peter Mayhew and Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca), Tim Rose (Admiral Ackbar), Mike Quinn (Nien Nunb), Simon Pegg (Unkar Plutt), and Warwick Davis joined by new additions Jimmy Vee (Pan) as R2-D2, Kelly Marie Tran (Ladies Like Us) as Rose, Benicio Del Toro (Guardians of the Galaxy) as DJ and Laura Dern (Jurassic Park) as Admiral Holdo.
Originally published July 19, 2017. Updated December 16, 2019.
