'Star Wars: Episode VIII' Has a 'Really Great' Script, Says Adam Driver
— -- The next installment of "Star Wars" isn't due to hit theaters until next December, but a few hints of what to expect are already trickling out.
Most recently, Adam Driver, who played Kylo Ren in "The Force Awakens," said that fans have a lot to be excited about.
The writing, he told an Entertainment Weekly reporter, is one of them.
"The script they've come up with is really great," he gushed.
Driver gave a few other tidbits about life behind the scenes, as have a few of his co-stars recently. Here's what we know about the upcoming film so far.
1. The First Order and the Resistance are in conflict still: For better or worse, some things remained unchanged. "They're still at war. It's still 'Star Wars,'" noted Driver. "They're not at peace!"
2. The mood on set is different: J.J. Abrams directed "The Force Awakens," but this time around, Rian Johnson is at the helm. Driver explained that the two men have different temperaments. "I feel like there was so many moving pieces in the first one – just trying to solve it and set the vocabulary for what it was," he continued. "There’s a lot of that anxiety is gone, because people have developed a language. I think it’s more of a testament to Rian coming into something very established and making it [his own]. I can’t wait to get on set, just because he’s so unassuming and intelligent and approachable."
3. The success of "The Force Awakens" hasn't been all-consuming: Though the last "Star Wars" installment set box office records and grossed more than $2 billion worldwide, Driver insisted that he "didn't turn into a new person." "Nothing happened to me," he said. "But a lot of people saw it, and that was good."
4. Expect new faces: John Boyega, who played Finn in "The Force Awakens, gushed about his new castmate, Kelly Marie Tran, according to Dork Side of the Force. (Her IMDB account also lists "Star Wars: Episode VIII" among her filmography.) Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Driver, Daisy Ridley, Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, and Andy Serkis will return for the new installment, Laura Dern and Benicio Del Toro will make their "Star Wars" debuts.
5. It picks up where the last installment left off: At the end of "The Force Awakens," Daisy Ridley, who plays Rey, tried to give Luke Skywalker's lightsaber back to him. Judging by last month's production announcement, that's where "Episode VIII" will begin.
"Star Wars" is produced by Lucasfilm, a subsidiary of Disney, which is the parent company of ABC News.
