Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is out in theaters starting Thursday evening, exactly one year before the release date for Star Wars: Episode 8. After J.J. Abrams made the most derivative Star Wars sequel (back-to-back with the most derivative Star Trek sequel) and after the release of a prequel wedged into seven words of the Star Wars opening crawl, perhaps 2017 is the year Disney should finally offer something genuinely new.
Though so much of what we’ve learned of Star Wars: Episode 8 is naked speculation and anonymous leaks, the accumulation of faint signs all augur well. Some of the more exciting rumors and possibilities:
- Supreme Leader Snoke is a big puppet. Skeksis Sith.
- Luke Skywalker the mad monk.
- Aliens and cityscapes unlike anything we’ve seen before in the Star Wars universe, or at least since the Prequels.
Star Wars: Episode 8 could finally give the Star Wars universe some new vision, setting the direction for all the limitless entries to follow. While The Force Awakens introduced us to fantastic new characters — like Rey, Finn, Poe, BB-8 and Kylo Ren — it didn’t provide them with a fantastic new adventure. That’s what Episode 8 can and should deliver. No more Death Stars, no more Darth Vader, just a stardrive, endless new worlds and a holistic field that surrounds and penetrates us and binds the galaxy together.
Star Wars: Episode VIII has until Dec. 15, 2017 — one year — to figure out if it wants to be just another franchise entry or a visionary work of sci-fi worthy to share a name with 1977’s Star Wars .
