Maybe this was obvious already, but Star Wars: Episode 8 is going to be way better than Star Wars: The Force Awakens. While J.J. Abrams has specialized in making solid, characterful, but ultimately formulaic blockbuster franchise entries, Rian Johnson’s films (Looper, Brick) are each idiosyncratic visions, stuffed with exceptional dialogue and unconventional narratives. According to cast member Adam Driver, who plays Kylo Ren, the script for Star Wars: Episode 8 has all of Johnson’s best filmic attributes.
In an interview for Collider, Driver had this to say about working with Johnson:
“Rian is coming into something that we kind of set up and he just took it to the next level in a really great way. He wrote it, too, and Rian’s writing is so clear. I learned a lot of things about my character through his writing. Some things we talked about before and some things we didn’t...To understand what J.J. was doing and take ownership from there is kind of a remarkable thing. And he’s the most polite, unassuming guy and he was appropriately territorial about some things but would still be the first to admit when something’s not working. A lot of times you need to rise to understand what the script is, and perhaps I’m beginning to be unclear, but he’s a great person to work with.”
But that wasn’t the end of Driver’s gushing torrent of praise for the Star Wars: Episode 8 director. “It’s great,” Driver said when asked about the Episode 8 script. “He trusts his audience is ready for nuance and ambiguity. He’s not dumbing anything down for someone and that’s really fun to play.”
Driver even compared the Episode 8 script to Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back — widely viewed as one of two unimpeachable classics in the Star Wars series — telling Collider, “It’s similar to how The Empire Strikes Back has a different tone. 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.”
This sounds like the complete opposite of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which simplified its own narrative into rehashed, easily-swallowed pulp. Sure, this is a cast member from a movie praising the movie, but his words certainly sound genuine.
Also, I want to believe. Star Wars: Episode 8 will be light years better than Star Wars: The Force Awakens and we only have to wait until Dec. 15, 2017.
