9/14/2016

Adam Driver Says 'Star Wars: Episode VIII' Brings More Nuance And Ambiguity


There's a reason why nearly everyone loved J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It was pure nostalgia, designed to reintroduce back to the universe and the tone of the movies we all loved growing up, even if that meant the plot wasn't necessarily fresh. Now that it's over and 'Episode VIII' is on the way, things are going to change. Rian Johnson is at the helm now and the sequel is likely to take a turn towards the dark side. But just how far will that turn go? Adam Driver, who plays the Vader-obsessed Kylo Ren, spoke to Collider and compared it to that of The Empire Strikes Back.

"It’s similar to how The Empire Strikes Back has a different tone. For that people always go “oooh, it’s dark” but I don’t know that it necessarily is. It’s just different in tone in a way that I think is great and necessary but also very clear. He trusts [that] his audience is ready for nuance and ambiguity. He’s not dumbing anything down for someone and that’s really fun to play."

He also took time to praise the screenplay written by Johnson, a director he hadn't worked with before and apparently had a ball with...

"Rian is coming into something that we kind of set up and he just took it to the next level in a really great way. He wrote it, too, and Rian’s writing is so clear. I learned a lot of things about my character through his writing. Some things we talked about before and some things we didn’t. He was working on [the script] while we were still working on the first one. To understand what J.J. was doing and take ownership from there is kind of a remarkable thing. And he’s the most polite, unassuming guy and he was appropriately territorial about some things but would still be the first to admit when something’s not working. A lot of times you need to rise to understand what the script is, and perhaps I’m beginning to be unclear, but he’s a great person to work with."

Chances are we won't get an official title until next year since they tend to be pretty revealing. Until then we have Rogue One: A Star Wars Story this December to tide us over. 'Episode VIII' arrives next year on December 15th.