Star Wars: Adam Driver compares new film to Empire Strikes Back

Adam Driver is evoking the pinnacle of Star Wars storytelling when describing Rian Johnson’s script for Episode VIII.

While talking to Collider about his upcoming film Paterson, the Kylo Ren actor gave several thoughts about the eagerly awaited new film — including comparing it to The Empire Strikes Back. While the Girls star avoided spoilers (of course), Driver managed to convey at least some sense of the new movie when asked about Johnson’s take.

Some excerpts: “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 … [the script is] great. 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.”

And that is exactly what many Original Trilogy fans hope to hear — the Empire comparison, not dumbing down, “next level,” nuance, and ambiguity. But it also makes the long wait until December 2017 all the more unbearable.

In the meantime, see the latest international trailer for this December’s Rogue One, which takes place before the events of the first Star Wars film, along with our deep-dive analysis.