Director J.J. Abrams was recently interviewed by Wired magazine to which he not only discussed the process he and the crew approached in making "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" but also managed to hint how the film would eventually tie into the sequel, "Star Wars: Episode VIII," which will be directed by Rian Johnson.
One of the first things Abrams confirmed was that "The Force Awakens" would be able to stand on its own and not just serve as a two-hour intro the next film, a complaint many critics voiced out concerning "Iron Man 2" as it felt more like a commercial for "The Avengers."
In comparison, he likened "The Force Awakens" to the very first "Star Wars" film, "A New Hope." Luke Skywalker's (Mark Hamill) connection to Darth Vader (David Prowse/James Earl Jones) or to Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) were not hinted at but the film did leave the doors open for those plot points to take place in the sequels.
As for Johnson's take on "Episode VIII," Abrams confirmed that the script has been completed, although there will be numerous re-writes to come before the film officially begins production. While "The Force Awakens" was written by Abrams and "Empire Strikes Back" scribe Lawrence Kasdan, Johnson has had sole writing duties thus far for "Episode VIII."
Abrams also explained that Johnson and "Episode VIII" producer Ram Bergman were shown dailies of "The Force Awakens" as well as a rough finished cut of the film to ensure that their script and its re-writes would be consistent with the events that take place in Abrams's film.
J.J. Abrams then explained what role he would have over "Episode VIII" and how much influence he would have over Johnson's work on the film:
"Rian has asked for a couple of things here and there that he needs for his story. He is an incredibly accomplished filmmaker and an incredibly strong writer. So the story he told took what we were doing and went in the direction that he felt was best, but that is very much in line with what we were thinking as well. But 'Episode VIII' will be his movie; he's going to do it in the way he sees fit. He's neither asking for nor does he need me to oversee the process."
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" opens this Dec. 18 while "Star Wars: Episode VIII" will hit theaters on May 26, 2017.
