'Star Wars: Episode 8' release date, spoilers news: Adam Driver compares 'Episode 8' to 'Empire Strikes Back'
Adam Driver, who starred in 2015's "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens" as the villainous Kylo Ren, said the upcoming "Star Wars: Episode VIII" is similar in tone to "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back" (1980).
In a recent interview with Collider, Driver, who will reprise his role as the prodigal son of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), said that the sequel's script is "great" and praised writer/director Rian Johnson for not "dumbing down" the story.
"It's similar to how 'The Empire Strikes Back' has a different tone," the actor described the film. "For that people always go 'oooh, it's dark' but I don't know that it necessarily is. It's just different in tone in a way that I think is great and necessary but also very clear," he continued.
"[Johnson] trusts [that] his audience is ready for nuance and ambiguity," he said. "He's not dumbing anything down for someone and that's really fun to play," Driver continued.
Driver also described what it was like to work with the "Episode VIII" director after debuting as the main villain in the J.J. Abrams-helmed "The Force Awakens," saying that Johnson was polite, unassuming and a great person to work with. The actor also shared that Johnson's writing was "so clear" and that he took "Episode VIII" "to the next level."
Meanwhile, it was recently revealed that Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o, who is reprising her "The Force Awakens" role as Maz Kanata in "Episode VIII," has yet to film her scenes for the upcoming sequel.
When asked to describe what it was like working with Johnson, Nyong'o told Collider, "I haven't worked with him yet; I've yet to shoot. That's in my future."
Nyong'o's Kanata was introduced in "Episode VII" as an old friend of Solo's. The former pirate and smuggler also happened to have Luke Skywalker's (Mark Hamill) old lightsaber hidden in the basement of her castle in Takodana.
Production for "Star Wars: Episode VIII" wrapped in late July. The official title for the film has not been announced.
The film hits theaters Dec. 15, 2017.
