"Star Wars: Episode VIII" gets official title

PanARMENIAN.Net - "Star Wars: Episode VIII" has finally got an official title. Director Rian Johnson has announced via his Twitter account that the next installment of the "Star Wars" movie series is called "Star Wars: The Last Jedi", AceShowbiz said.

StarWars.com, the official site of "Star Wars", is also announcing the news. "We have the greatest fans in this or any other galaxy," reads a statement posted on the site. "In appreciation of the fans, we wanted them to be the first to know the title of the next chapter in the Skywalker saga: 'STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI'."

Commenting on the official title, Mark Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker, admits that he had known it since they were filming the movie. "He told me that while we were making the movie," Hamill says during an interview with Associated Press, presumably referring to director Johnson. Instead of feeling euphoric or disappointed, he suggested that he was scared. "I told him, 'don't tell me these things!' I talk in my sleep!" he says with a laugh.

Hamill then adds, "They are so jacked-up with paranoia over leaks, but that's the way of the world. It's funny because when we were making the original, nobody cared!" About the name of the movie, Hamill says, "It's got a real Samurai...it's straightforward and minimalist, and I like that."

Hamill portrayed Luke Skywalker in the original "Star Wars" trilogy and appeared briefly in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens". The movies seemingly set him as the last Jedi, but looking at "Episode: VIII" title, fans assume that there may be another Jedi to come. Either way, Hamill is expected to play a big part in "The Last Jedi". Carrie Fisher had finished filming her scenes as Princess/General Leia before she passed away last December.

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" is scheduled to be released in the U.S. on December 15. Other "The Force Awakens" cast members such as Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Lupita Nyong'o, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie and Andy Serkis are returning. Benicio Del Toro, Laura Dern and Kelly Marie Tran are among the new cast members.