WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN EPISODE 8?

A few years ago, when Disney announced the re-launch of the “Star Wars” franchise, you could find odds online about what would happen in the movie. Most bets centered on which characters would return for the first movie in the new trilogy. It’s fun to go back and read those odds now, especially if you are one of the people that went to see “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” during the first few days of its release. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, spoilers are below. But to be fair, if you are reading this article and haven’t seen the new Star Wars movie, you should go see it now.





You could have made a little money betting that Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker would return and your odds slightly increased if you bet on Han Solo returning as well. Perhaps your best bet would have been a gamble that Chewbecca would also return as one site had nearly even odds on the wookiee’s return.

So as everyone now waits for the release of Episode 8 (Disney has already announced a release date of May 26, 2017) let’s guess at some of the things that could happen to guide any movie betting odds you come across.

Before we start, one thing to note. In a recent article, Lawrence Kasden, who helped write “The Force Awakens,” along with “Return of the Jedi,” said he expects Episode 8 director Rian Johnson to do something “weird,” so everything is on the table.

And now some questions to consider:


Who are Rey’s parents?

This will be the main question people will want answers to in Episode 8. We learned in “The Force Awakens” that Kylo Ren is the son of Princess Leia and Han Solo. There has been some speculation that Rey is in fact Luke’s daughter, but that seems unlikely.

The most straightforward scenario is that Rey is Kylo Ren’s sister and daughter to Han and Leia. She would be the light side of the force to counterbalance his turn to the dark side. It almost makes too much sense, so there could be a chance her character has another backstory, although that’s hard to imagine. If you can find odds on this, take them.

Does Boba Fett return?

When we last saw the silent bounty hunter, Boba Fett, he was sliding down into the Sarlacc pitt, seen in “Return of the Jedi”. But we never actually saw him die, did we? So that could mean one of the most popular characters from the original Star Wars trilogy, could still be alive in the new trilogy, taking place about 30 years later. You have to guess that he returns at some point in these new movies -- it’s hard to imagine he won't -- so bet on Episode 8 and cheer when he pops up on screen.


Is Kylo Ren actually good?

One of the best fan theories out there is that Kylo Ren is pretending to be a bad guy so he can kill Snoke. He needed to kill Han in order to complete his transition to the dark side, part of a plot to get close to the supreme leader of the First Order. It’s a crazy theory, but a fun one. Plus, it’s just crazy enough that it might be true.


Does Lando return?

There is speculation that Lando Calrissian is actually Finn’s father. That’s possible, but doubtful. With all the cameos in “The Force Awakens,” including Admiral Akbar, it only makes sense that Lando would be in Episode 8 somehow, especially since Billy Dee Williams is getting up there in age.