It would be easier to get blood from a stone then to find out information about Star Wars: Episode VIII. A handful of blurry photos have leaked onto the Internet featuring Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega) riding an alien horse that looks an awful lot like Talbuk mounts from World of Warcraft (Google it). We”ve heard rumors last minute rewrites. We know Benicio del Toro and Laura Dern have joined the cast. Rian Johnson has confirmed the Millennium Falcon will show up. That”s about it.
But even the tightest ship is going a spring a leak. This week that leak was none other than John Boyega himself. Earlier in the week, Lucasfilm hosted a gala for Secrets of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in the UK. The behind-the-scenes documentary will be included on The Force Awakens home video release, but screening began as far back as SXSW to drum up hype. WhatCulture was on hand for the UK event. Host John Boyega tried to keep it vague when it came to Episode VIII, but his excitement may have gotten the better of him.
[Boyega] did mostly just say that the script and Rian Johnson are great, he did drop a pretty exciting nugget; when talking about new things to be excited, he said Kelly Marie Tran is Episode VIII”s “new lead”.
Who is Kelly Marie Tran? She”s an actress that”s been kicking around Hollywood since 2011, with small roles on shows like Comedy Bang! Bang! and Ladies Like Us. If you”re a denizen of the Internet, though, you probably know her from CollegeHumor”s original videos, such as this one!
And this one!
Tran”s involvement in Episode VIII was announced back in February. At the time her role was unknown. To be fair, it still is. But there”s a difference between “Resistance Fighter Pilot with three lines” and “new lead.” If Boyega”s phrasing wasn”t hyperbole, fans can expect another lady to join the fight against (or for?) the First Order in 2017!
Star Wars: Episode VIII arrives in theaters on December 15, 2017.