Confirmed! Ep.8 begins right after TFA.

Prior to the release of TFA I would have said 'immediatedly thereafter' figuring how successful it was for disney's last big mythos trilogy:


After seeing TFA.. I think we're going to have a couple years pass to 'reset the table'. Finn needs to recover and probably cyberized from his wounds, Rey and Kylo will undergo training.. The geopolitcal situation in the galaxy will need to be altered.. likely in favor of the FO due to the destruction of the Republic on Hosnian Prime.
Episode VIII is a year and a half from now.. wouldn't be surprised if that's how much time passes in universe as well.

 

I think that about a year is a good guess. Apart from the fact that Star Wars films have always had a gap of some sort (and the fact that an immediate sequel would render the crawl useless). It gives Finn time to recover, Rey and Kylo some time to get some training in, the Resistance time to find a new base of operations...
As well, any longer and I think we run the risk of jumping straight to a fully trained Rey and Kylo and that wouldn't be quite as interesting as catching them on their way to that point in my opinion.

 

I have NO idea where this movie is going to start off. It can't be instant, like you said that's never happened & it would render the crawl useless. I assume we're going to start a year off, but not more than 3. Rey will be training with Luke, Finn will be integrated into the Resistance, & MAYBE the Knights of Ren will be organizing once Kylo has finished his training with Snoke.

 

Immediately would be fitting, I'd love to see Rey/Luke scenes, but I can see Episode VIII beginning (at least) 0-2 years after TFA (possibly more like the spans in previous trilogies). We may just have to wait for more novels to see the bulk of the training which takes place for Rey and Kylo. Either way I look forward to the "spoilers" and the film itself.

 

It start right after TFA to finish the Luke-Rey scene, then it goes 2 years after.

 

It doesn't make the crawl useless. If it picks up almost immediately after TFA then the crawl will be a recap of TFA plus a little extra:

In a GFFA,
FO blew up a system, new republic is in shambles, all hope is in the Resistance,
Shadowy villain Snoke comes out of shadows, trains his apprentice, Rey must convince the galaxy's greatest hero to return to once again save the galaxy

 

I think it would make sense to keep it in "real time". It's been roughly 30 years since ROTJ, and this new movie gets released in a year and a half.

So let's just say a year and a half will pass between 7 and 8.

 

I like the idea of a 2-3 year gap. I think that's why we see Daisy Ridley working out so hard. I think it will start with her toward the end of her physical training. She will probably still be alone with Luke. I think it would be fantastic to have Luke take her back to Dagobah and show her in similar scenes as his in ESB. This to me would be a great time for a Yoda force ghost.

 

i wish it would be in real time. for example after the crawl cut to the scene where rey is handing luke the saber and they continue from there. it dosent have to be 2 years later

 

I'm conflicted. In some ways I would hope that episode VIII would pick up immediately from where episode VII ended. There are so many unanswered questions, and the cliffhanger ending with Luke and Rey calls for being resolved in a way that we all can witness.

Yet, at the same time, I think, story-wise, it could work better if there was some gap between these two movies...

I guess, I'll assume there will be a small gap, but not too long. Like a few months, up to one year.

 

Perfect post, it makes sense.

 

I only say straight after.. only because of Luke's reveal..

 

I think it makes more sense to pick up immediately from where it left off.

 

My guess is either:

a.) immediately as in hours to days later .

b.) a flashback .

c.) 6 - 8 months later .

 

Great point about the crawl. Definitely gonna be a year or 2.

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 25, 2015, Original Post Date: Dec 25, 2015 ---

Also a good point.

 

I saw someone else post that the crawl wouldn't be useless, but only the first paragraph could be a recap. The other two could explain some of the political conflict of the first order and the republic, and it's standing after the destruction of the hosnian system. Perhaps something about the size of the resistance forces in relation to those of the first order. Perhaps the contingency plan for SKbase getting destroyed?
There's plenty of exposition to put in the crawl that could be left out of dialogue.

But in all honesty I expect a gap of about 2 years

 

With Looper in charge, I can see that happening.

 

The way the movie ended my first thought was that VIII would take place immediately after. However, I agree with those in here that say a few months to a year after.