Rian Johnson talks about the Rey & Luke Relationship

Rogue One is still killing it at the box office, and has now officially become the second highest grossing Star Wars movie of all time. Yay!

Chances are we won’t hear anything new about Episode VIII until Star Wars Celebration Orlando in the spring, which is going to leave even the most casual of fans thirsty for any new bits of information we can get our hands on.

Luckily for us, USA Today spoke to writer-director Rian Johnson about what’s in the works for Episode VIII, and here’s what he shared:

Remember that Star Wars: The Force Awakens cliffhanger with new heroine Rey (Daisy Ridley) bringing Jedi master Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) his old lightsaber on a remote intergalactic island? Writer/director Rian Johnson is picking up right where they left off in the beginning of the Star Wars saga’s still-untitled next chapter. “I don’t want to skip ahead two years,” Johnson says. “I want to see the very next moment of what happens.” How Rey and Luke relate to each other is the key relationship in Episode VIII, and Johnson says “a large part of the movie” will be spent addressing why Luke’s there and what he’ll do next. Like Luke, Rey has been pulled into a bigger world by connecting with the Force, “but part of what’s she’s dealing with is the realization that she has this power and this gift,” Johnson adds. “She’s taking her first step to coming to terms with this thing inside her that she never knew was there and is just starting to reveal its potential.” Another cliffhanger: How General Leia might figure in the film in light of Carrie Fisher’s death last month.

What do you think of Rian Johnson’s comments? Let us know in the comments below.

Star Wars: Episode VIII opens December 15th… THIS YEAR!