Due to the success of Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens and popularity of its main characters, it sounds like Star Wars: Episode 8 is being rewritten to focus more on Rey, Finn and Poe and less on newer characters.
If you may recall a few months ago, Disney were casting for even newer characters to star in Star Wars: Episode 8. I remember reading they were casting for a new female lead. I was thinking to myself (at the time), what happens to Rey if there’s a new lead?
A reporter on The Wrap noted on the Meet the Movie Press podcast that he’s heard that the new movie is getting rewritten. The two new female characters being added are now getting much smaller roles so they can focus more on the likes of Rey, Finn and Poe from Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens.
I think this is the right move as Rey, Finn and Poe were well-received in The Force Awakens. Not to mention all of the characters/actors became popular in their own right. It would have been disappointing if they were shafted in favor of even newer characters being introduced in Episode 8.
The original trilogy focused on the trio of Luke, Leia and Han. The prequels were about Obi Wan, Anakin and Padme. This new trilogy should be about Rey, Finn and Poe. It would have been weird if this trio was forgotten about to introduce us to even more main characters.
I’m not against new actors getting a chance to work on Star Wars, I just feel it wouldn’t fit from a storyline standpoint. There’s more we need to know about Rey and Finn.
The rumor is that Rian Johnson (Director, Writer) is needing to delay filming Star Wars: Episode 8 for one month in order to incorporate the rewrites.
