Movies

Episode 8 Bits: A Few Rumored Titles, New Set Pictures, And A Cameo From Tom Hardy

episode 8 set photos
By Jacob Hall/

In today's edition of Episode 8 Bits:

  • Rumored titles for Star Wars: Episode 8 are here and they're all probably bogus.
  • A rumored scene showcasing Luke Skywalker's abilities.
  • New photos from the film's Irish sets.
  • A strange cameo by Tom Hardy has apparently been shot.
  • John Williams comments on whether or not he'll return.

    • Until Lucasfilm releases something official (and trust me, you will know when they release something official), take every single rumored title for Star Wars: Episode 8 with a grain of salt. Scratch that. Take them all with a pound of salt. A barrel of salt. Bury every title in a grave filled with salt. But since the whole purpose of Episode 8 Bits is to round up every little tidbit of information related to this movie, we might as well run down the titles that have been hitting the internet lately. I wouldn't count on any of these actually being the title, but hey, let's just have some fun.

    Movieweb has rounded them up. There's Star Wars: The Tale of the Jedi Temple, which we first heard spoken aloud a few months ago and still sounds as unlikely as ever. There's Star Wars: Echoes of the Dark Side, which originated in a Reddit thread that feels like it skipped its medication. It's nuts and you should totally read it and then not believe a word of it. And finally, there's Star Wars: The Order of the Dark Side, which is actually the best title of the bunch while still feeling a little bland.episode 8 bits

    Speaking of wacky rumors that originate in Reddit threads that you shouldn't take seriously, a Redditor claims that Episode 8 will feature a Luke Skywalker with a bit of a temper. Although I'd happily bet a crisp ten dollar bill on this being completely made up (it's Reddit, after all), beware of spoilers. Who knows? Maybe this scene will turn out to be true:

    Here's the saucy bit: A few weeks ago they blew up– specifically, blew apart– an Ahch-To hut. According to my source, Kylo and Rey have a conversation that Luke does not like. Luke tries to stop them. Luke gets angry... and the whole hut they are in disintegrates (re: 'blows up'). My source did not specify as to the exact cause of the disintegration, but based on the info I believe Luke accidentally (or perhaps even purposely) does so using the Force.

    It actually sounds like a pretty effective moment, but that doesn't mean it's true in the slightest. But until the concrete information starts to trickle in, we can enjoy silly diversions like this.

    episode 8

    While we're talking about Ahch-To, the Independent has posted new photos the sets being constructed at Ceann Sibéal on the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland and you can check them out for yourself by following that link. We get new photos of this set every few weeks, but this the first time it has truly started to resemble the location from the final scene of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Meanwhile Making Star Wars has posted videos of a completely different set being constructed at Malin Head. Although seemingly connected to the Ahch-To, this is definitely not another "Beehive" hut. Could this be the Jedi temple itself, the one that Luke came out to this planet to find in the first place? Anyway, when combined with footage shot at Skellig Michael a few months ago, all of these various sets should seamlessly come together to create Luke Skywalker's island home.

    Tom Hardy Taboo

    The them of entertaining wacky Reddit theories continues! Only now, a story that began there has now been confirmed by Making Star Wars, who have nailed their fair share of accurate stories over the years. Still: pinch of salt, etc. The original Reddit post has been deleted, but Making Star Wars claims it's true: Tom Hardy plays a cameo role in the film.

    Potential spoilers follow.

    Their post claims that Hardy will play a Stormtrooper in a mostly comedic scene, much like how Daniel Craig played a bumbling Stormtrooper in The Force Awakens. While Craig got to be Jedi Mind Tricked by Rey, it sounds like Hardy will have a bizarre interaction with Finn:

  • Tom Hardy plays a First Order stormtrooper.
  • Said stormtrooper glimpses FN-2187 on a secret mission but doesn't realize it.
  • The "incognito" FN-2187 is surprised when the stormtrooper walks up behind him and slaps him on the ass.
  • FN-2187 turns around and believes he's dead. He's surely going to be captured.
  • The stormtrooper is elated to see his old friend from back during their First Order academy days.
  • The stormtrooper congratulates FN-2187 on his promotion to Resistance infiltrator and spy.
  • FN-2187 is free to go about his business to his amazement.

    • I'm not fully prepared to believe this is true, but after that Craig cameo, I'm open to it. Anyone who reads director Rian Johnson's twitter feed knows that the man has a goofy sense of humor and this sounds exactly like the kind of gag he'd cook up.

    The Force Awakens Score

    Naturally, we'll end this edition of Episode 8 Bits as we started it: by scraping forums for information. A post in a John Williams fan forum shared details of performance by the Philadelphia Orchestra, with Williams himself conducting. It seems that Williams commented on Episode 8 between numbers, letting the audience know that he didn't know if he'd be back for the next movie. Here's a report from the event:

    "I told the producers I wasn't sure if I wanted to do the next one, but told them I didn't want anyone else doing it either," [said Williams]. It was certainly meant as a joke, and got a great laugh.

    John Williams is eventually going to stop writing Star Wars music (and that will be a sad day, indeed), but we'll just have to wait and see if this film can pull him back in. However, someone else who was in attendance at the concert chimed in on Twitter to say this the original quote was way off:

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