Confirmed! Ep.8 begins right after TFA.

I think it picks right up. The conversation between Rey and Luke is to huge to pass up. However, I don't think the movie will open with Luke and Rey. Got to have that iconic spaceship opening scene. So, I'm guessing it'll open with a First Order Star Destroyer somewhere, maybe taking Kylo to meet Snoke?

 

The weird thing about TFA is that its ending is very much a cliffhanger... and unlike TESB, it requires us to either pick up exactly where we left off, or learn what was said via exposition, which is dramatically weak.

But I do hope VIII begins at least one year later. It would just be weird not to. The opening crawl always sets up new, exciting context. If VIII's is just a summary of TFA, that would be very disappointing.

 

This in my main lingering complaint about the movie after all the initial nitpicks have faded away. More than anything else almost, one of the best parts of SW to me is the imagination that can come about in between the movies. Ending on a cliffhanger kills every bit of that, as shown by the fact that almost every post here is waffling.

 

I've been thinking about where the story goes next and realized that given the way that TFA ends, this will be largely driven by how much time elapses between the stories.

Does VIII pick up with Luke and Rey meeting: That is, no passage of time

This would give us full view of the training of Rey, and would reflect upon ESB. We could also see a wounded Kylo completing his training under Snoke.

We would also see the aftermath of the destruction of the Republic Fleet and the growth of the resistance.

Not immediately, but less than a year:

Both Rey and Kylo would be far along in their training, and drawn out into the galaxy but whatever the driver of the new film is.

The Republic would have regrouped to some extent.

More than a year later:

Training is complete, and we have a Sith Lord and powerful young Jedi facing off in the next phase of the conflict.

The FO and NR/Resistance would be fully engaged.

The only spoilers I have seen so far is the possibility that there is filming at both Skellig and alternate locations, and that set pieces from Skellig are being built at Pinewood. That would lead me to believe that it is one of the first two options.

What do you all think?

 

There is already thread about this: https://thecantina.starwarsnewsnet....after-tfa-do-you-think-viii-takes-place.7960/

Maybe a mod could merge these threads?

 

Daisy Ridley has spilled the beans... Ep.8 begins immediately following the ending of TFA.

Thoughts?

 

Then why do we need an opening crawl...?

 

Good.

 

Presumably there are other important things happening elsewhere in the galaxy that we didn't see. So there you go. Besides, I'd rather not tell Rian that he cannot try something new, because some people will complain about it messing with the freaking opening crawl.

 

I have no idea what the opening crawl will contain... but for me, logically, we will see something happening during Rey's approach to AHCH-TO that we didn't see at the end of VII. Such as Luke's perspective (seeing the Falcon approach, going up to the cliff, etc...)

OR

After the crawl, we pan down to the MF approaching AHCH-TO, but shortly behind it trails a FIRST ORDER SHIP. We cut ahead to Rey giving Luke the lightsaber, only for the First Order ship to land on the island. And without much conversation, Rey and Luke must now fend off the enemies. It would be a great way to throw everyone back into the action and potentially show how powerful Luke has become.

 

Bugger it all, there goes half of my speculation!

On a serious note, it could be done spectacularly well. Let's say: start with Kylo Ren and Hux meeting up with Snoke somewhere in space after a crawl (maybe even a new planet), follow it up with a scene of Finn waking up to Poe and Leia, transition into the ending of Episode VII and so on and so forth...

In fact, have the movie deal with the repercussions of the destruction of Hosnian Prime as its backdrop to weave the character storylines. Dubrovnik could very easily be Hanna City, the capital of Chandrila.

 

I just want to see/hear that first conversation between them.

 

I think it will be somewhere in between... It can't really focus on Rey just arriving at island because there are months of training that need to take place. It will either begin with the arrival and then jump at some time or begin in the middle of the training... We'll see. It is not entirely unexpected from Rian to make something new, even if it breaks the SW tradition for a bit.

As for the crawl it certainly CAN continue where 7 left of, and even clarify some things that even TFA didn't. It all comes down to the quality of the writing.

And btw. I think that TFA crawl was masterfully done.

 

They could always show the conversation, and then do a time skip (by which time Finn is also out of his coma). You get the best of both worlds there.

 

Thank god Rian Johnson is a terrific writer.

 

There HAS to be a time skip... Act I will most likely be focused on Luke and Rey training, along with Snoke and Kylo training too. Act II will skip several months (minimum) to where Finn is out of his coma and Finn, Poe, Leia and the others in the Resistance having to face a new threat from the FO and possibly BDT's character. Act III ??

 

I said something similar on another thread:
The opening crawl could potentially state what happened to Kylo Ren and Phasma as well as the direct aftermath in the moments after Hosnian Prime was decimated and something regarding Han Solo .

 

Do not want. But I'll live.

 

Why wouldn't Rey's training scenes with Luke be as about as long as the Luke being trained by Yoda scenes? I think we'll see some mirroring going on there, but a different attitude from both the Master and the student. We want to see what Luke has learned and what he can teach. What's his philosophy? How does Rey absorb what she learns? Is she just continuing her previous training? How were her abilities unlocked in TFA? Surpressed skills or just dormant?

I thought it was clear that in her escape from the chair and her battle with Ben that she was summoning her training, remembering what she had learned. It would be interesting to see a Jedi being trained who already has some abilities that she's already developed. We never got to see Anakin being trained and Luke's training was great, but it was really remedial. I hope they don't jump from handing over the lightsaber to months later and they head off for an adventure. I want to see the education of Rey.

 

What event gets them off Ach-To? Luke was pulled away by his friends being in trouble, but when we left Rey things were in much better shape aside from Finn's hospital stay.

Does she get to complete her training, unlike Luke?