With the immense success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the new spin-off, Rogue One: A Star Wars story, the franchise is more popular than ever. Most Star Wars fans would do practically anything for a chance to be in a Star Wars movie, and it seems that director Rian Johnson made some dreams come true over the weekend. For one group of lucky fans in Austin, Texas, all they had to do is show up at the Alamo Drafthouse, and literally make some noise for the filmmaker, although they weren't exactly aware of this surprise until after the fact.
Every year at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas, Ain't It Cool News founder Harry Knowles holds the annual "Butt-Numb-a-Thon," a 24-hour movie marathon which features a number of classic films, along with advanced screenings of upcoming movies. The event always attracts a number of filmmakers and celebrities alike, one of which is Star Wars 8 director Rian Johnson. Austin 360 reports that Rian Johnson took to the stage during the event this month and recorded the crowd cheering, booing and hissing, before dropping a big bombshell for the crowd.
"Next year you'll all be in a Star Wars movie."
Unfortunately, the director didn't add any insight into what scene these crowd noises will be used for, but that isn't terribly surprising, since practically nothing has been confirmed about the plot. We do know that the story will pick up directly after the end of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, where Rey (Daisy Ridley) met Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and gave him back his old lightsaber. There have been plenty of rumors about the story, with some claiming that Rey will start her Jedi training with Luke Skywalker, only to be lured into a trap, when she learns that Kylo Ren has captured her friends Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac).
We may be getting our first official plot details soon, though, with a recent report claiming that the first Star Wars 8 trailer will be released sometime in the Spring of 2017. LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy stated that she wanted to give fans some "breathing room" after Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hit theaters, before she showcased the first footage from Star Wars 8. While some have theorized that the footage may debut in theaters attached to prints of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, which debuts on March 17, it is believed that the trailer will debut at Star Wars Celebration, which will take place April 15-17 in Orlando, Florida.
Star Wars: Episode VIII will bring back Star Wars: The Force Awakens stars Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Carrie Fisher (Leia Oragana), Gwendoline Christie (Captain Phasma), Andy Serkis (Supreme Leader Snoke), Lupita Nyong'O (Maz Kanata) and Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker). New cast members include Benicio Del Toro and Laura Dern, although details about their characters have yet to be confirmed. Rian Johnson is directing from his own screenplay, with Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman producing, and J.J. Abrams, Jason McGatlin and Tom Kamrowski executive producing.