Neat video to kick off production.

I truly hope for the return of the Webisodes like with the Prequels.

Great.

Cue the Laura Dern = Rey's mother theories.

Yawn.

Or maybe Dern will be another bucket head who appears just long enough to get her ass handed to her.

After the letdown of TFA I will this time keep my expectations down the barrel. However I DID love Looper. Rian is one talented dude and its interesting because he also wrote EP8 which is HUGE.

I hope they are not doing a direct continuation. I kinda like that some time passed, maybe us catching Rey in the middle of her Training. I dunno. Someone was saying that the announcement thing has new footage but I think its just TFA footage from different angle. Also this time, I don't give a damn about not reading spoilers. Maybe that will help to keep expectations in check. Kinda getting tired of having to wait 30+ yrs for a GREAT new SW movie (I said great not just good).

Spoiler: you will never see another Star Wars movie as good as ESB, as magical as ANH or as emotionally conclusive as ROTJ.

I don't know how you define great, but I think we'll get very good with elements approaching greatness. I'm not as hard on TFA as you are, so our benchmarks are different. I don't think the ST is necessary or enlightened additions to the canon but I can appreciate elements that work.

Daisy Ridley is really excited about Star Wars: Episode VIII. Ridley—who plays Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens—says working with Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) on the film has been "amazing."

"Me and Mark have been rehearsing a lot, and it's really amazing," Ridley told MTV News on the Oscars red carpet Sunday. "When we went back to Skellig [Michael, the Irish island used for Luke's hideaway] to do the opening of [Episode] VIII, it was crazy doing the same scene with a different crew of people."

She mentioned the film isn't just two hours of Rey and Luke staring at each other, but she is "very excited to be doing the rest of the stuff."

"It's such a good story," Ridley said. "Seriously. Luke is so cool in this one. Really."

http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/03/01/ ... ol-in-this

Photos from the set?
http://metro.co.uk/2016/03/13/heres-a-c ... 8-5749974/

More behind the scenes photos? Or could these be from Rogue One?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7WEurc ... e=youtu.be

Metric fucktons of images coming out of Dubrovnik

Makes me wonder how valid they'll end up being....

it's almost too easy.

Depends on what the opening crawl says.
I can imagine it talking about the state of the galaxy, and ending with something along the lines of "meanwhile, Rey is about to begin her Jedi training with Luke Skywalker..." etc.

Officially revealed that E8 kicks off right as E7 ends.

We'll see how it goes, but I'm not sure how much I like this. I love the discovery of learning what's been going on between chapters in the opening crawl. What could the crawl possibly "catch us up on?" I also loved seeing that our characters have developed even if only the slightest bit.

I trust Rian Johnson but I think the events of the last Episode need time to breathe.

The opening crawl could update us on who survived the Starkiller destruction (Kylo, Hux, Phasma), and what's happening with the First Order and what remains of the Republic. Then, "Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker begins training a new Jedi apprentice..."
Camera pans down to the island with Luke and Rey.

^That too. There are all kinds of possibilities.

Not to bitch already but I just dont like the fact that we cutting to the Luke Rey meeting at the beginning. I mean i trust Johnson of course but the traditional 'time has passed' makes this feel more of a TFA part 2 than Ep8. Of course, im overthinking it. Thats what we do no? Bitch and overthink everything.

In anyways, I wonder if we will get a teaser in front of Rogue one?