'Star Wars Episode VIII' release date news update: Adam Driver talks about Rian Johnson's approach to the movie

As of now, fans are awaiting the release of Gareth Edwards' prequel movie, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." The sequel to "The Force Awakens," Rian Johnson's "Star Wars Episode VIII" is still undergoing its post-production phase and is slated for release next year. Adam Driver, who plays the villain Kylo Ren, talks about the upcoming movie and compares it to "The Empire Strikes Back."

In an interview with Collider, Driver talks about the direction that Johnson has decided to take with the movie. He says, "It's similar to how 'The Empire Strikes Back' has a different tone. For that people always go, 'Ooooh, 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 also goes on to say that Johnson "trusts" his audience and that he won't dumb down anything in the story.

Though a massive success, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" was slammed by some critics as a complete rehash of "Star Wars: A New Hope." Fans were expecting a totally different story by the time "Episode VIII" rolled out, and with Driver comparing it to "Empire Strikes Back," some fans may expect the movie to be just another remake.

Rumors have been circling around the net that "Episode VIII" will be titled "Star Wars: Fall of the Resistance." This has neither been confirmed nor denied by Lucasfilm but the title does have a similar ring to "The Empire Strikes Back."

"Empire" saw one of the most shocking moments in the entire franchise. Other than the revelation of Luke's (Mark Hamill) parentage, there was also the part where Han Solo (Harrison Ford) was frozen in carbonite.

"Star Wars: Episode VIII" premieres Dec. 15, 2017.