The highly anticipated installment to George Lucas' hugely popular sci-fi franchise is about to wrap up in just over two weeks. Star Wars Episode started its production in February this year.
Meanwhile, Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) tweeted that the film is in the final stages of production and is expected to wrap up on July 22, 2016. This update follows his previous "out of work" comment which was interpreted by some overzealous fans as a hint that the aging Jedi Knight will be killed off in the movie.
In another related development, fans will get an Episode 8 teaser at the Star Wars Celebration for Europe taking place in London this month. The movie's director, Rian Johnson, is expected to attend. Chris Miller and Phil Lord, who will be making a Han Solo spinoff, are also expected to accompany Johnson (Looper) in the event alongside Rogue One's Gareth Edwards, Game Spot reported.
While a plethora of competing theories is making rounds online, the movie's plot details remain under lock and key. Cast members, however, suggest that the upcoming eighth installment is surprisingly different from earlier films in the series.
"Rian is definitely going to places and investigating things that haven't really been done in the Star Wars universe," Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron) told the Los Angeles Times. "For me, it's so fun getting to explore different things that I wouldn't have expected in this universe."
The film was originally slated for July 8 release next year. But due to script re-writes, Disney decided to move the date to December 15, 2017. The postponement of the release date seems to be making a lot of sense. With a largely unopposed release in December from other movies, Disney can make huge money of it. In the meantime, a spinoff title called Star Wars: Rogue One will fill in the gap year which is expected to hit the big screen on December 14, 2016, Gizmodo reported.
