Star Wars: The Force Awakens Spoilers - What Can We Expect From Episode 8?

‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ is here, the first chapter of a new trilogy. The new film has been over 30 years in the making, but fans won’t have to wait long to find out what happens next.

‘Looper’ director Rian Johnson’s ‘Episode 8’ is set to be released in May 2017 with preliminary filming under way and full production not far off. ‘The Force Awakens’ lays the groundwork for this new story superbly, but what can we expect from the next part of the ‘Star Wars’ saga?

[WARNING: Major spoilers for ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ follow. You have been warned]

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‘The Force Awakens’ is the story of Finn (John Boyega) and Rey (Daisy Ridley) - two innately good heroes in search of purpose. Their stories are of equal importance to the film, with neither the sole main character.

However, at the end of the film we only really know what’s in store for Rey come Episode 8. In the final sequence of the film she climbs atop an island location to find Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) the Jedi Knight she thought to be a myth. Having discovered her own - incredibly strong - connection to the Force, it seems clear that Luke will mentor Rey in the ways of the Jedi in ‘Episode 8’.

Finn’s future is harder to predict. His brief duel with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) ended badly for him, with an upward slash to the spine from Ren’s lightsaber. It’s entirely possible he may be paralysed to an extent in the next film, or aided in some way by robotics - which would be a theme in-keeping with the saga to date.

Despite wielding Luke and Anakin Skywalker’s blue lightsaber, it’s pretty clear Finn is not a Force user, so what’s in store for him? Will he become a soldier of the Resistance, will he discover a connection to the Force?

It is teased in the film that Finn harbours feelings for Rey, feelings that we get the impression are not reciprocated. How that unfolds, if at all, in the sequel, will certainly be interesting.

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The big twist of the film - revealed early on - is that Kylo Ren is Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Leia Organa’s (Carrie Fisher) son. It is said that he was a student of Luke, who had been teaching people the ways of the Force before turning on Luke and turning to the dark side. Under the tutelage of Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), Ren becomes obsessed with his grandfather Darth Vader’s legacy and wishes to “finish what he started” - wiping out the Jedi.

We learn Kylo Ren’s real name is Ben in the film’s pivotal scene, which teases the good in Ben Solo before he kills his father Han. Our guess is that this trilogy will chart the redemption of Ben Solo - but having killed off a beloved and iconic character in Han Solo, LucasFilm have definitely set themselves a huge task if our prediction is accurate.

In ‘Episode 8’ we expect to learn more about Snoke’s grand plan and why he holds such a hatred for the Jedi and Republic. We also expect to see Kylo Ren wrestle with inner-struggle, perhaps delving even deeper into the dark side. A meeting between him and mother Leia is certainly a particular scene we’d like to see.

The film has a number of less central characters that introduced themselves well but certainly left room for growth. Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) is a somewhat one-note character, a roguish and reckless pilot, so we hope to learn more about him. We hope Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) returns as well and gets a lot more to do.

If there’s one thing we can be absolutely sure of however, it’s that BB-8 will continue to be a joy to watch.

‘Star Wars: Episode 8’ is set for release on 26 May 2017.

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Picture Credits: LucasFilm.