--- description: JJ Abrams and Daisy Ridely also hinted about the force staying awake in Episode VIII. title: John Boyega Says the Next 'Star Wars' Will Be 'Much Darker' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd7ef51b0f2f3157/698875490b72e352196e7427/john-boyega-star-wars.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # John Boyega Says the _Star Wars_ Sequel Will Be 'Much Darker' by [Jonathon Dornbush / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Jonathon Dornbush / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 12, 2016 2:57 PM CUT  John Boyega in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. John Boyega in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.Lucasfilm Ltd. by [Jonathon Dornbush / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Jonathon Dornbush / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 12, 2016 2:57 PM CUT While _Star Wars: The Force Awakens_ enjoys [continued box office dominance](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/01/10/box-office-report-star-wars-force-awakens-the-revenant-the-forest "undefined"), its sequel is already on the horizon for fans and those actually making it. And star John Boyega has teased a bit of what fans can expect in the next installment. Speaking with the British edition of [_Vogue_](http://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/2016/01/john-boyega-interview-star-wars-finn-actor "undefined"), Boyega called the script for _Episode VIII_ “great” and “much darker” than its predecessor. Though Boyega is of course not going to spoil anything about the upcoming film this far from its release — he even jokes [in the interview](http://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/2016/01/john-boyega-interview-star-wars-finn-actor "undefined") about finally being able to discuss _The Force Awakens_ plot points — he did hint that _Episode VIII_ will be more physically taxing for Finn. “My part in the next film will be much more physical so I might be in the gym a bit more,” Boyega said, explaining that he didn’t have any Thor-like regime while filming _The Force Awakens_. [Daisey Ridley has also said](http://variety.com/2015/film/news/star-wars-force-awakens-rey-daisy-ridley-episode-8-rogue-one-felicity-jones-1201664087/ "undefined") she’s read the “very good”_Episode VIII_ script, while J.J. Abrams enjoyed the script so much he regrets not directing the next film,[according to his friend and _The Force Awakens_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/12/23/jj-abrams-star-wars-episode-viii "undefined") actor Greg Grunberg. Read Boyega’s [full interview with British _Vogue_](http://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/2016/01/john-boyega-interview-star-wars-finn-actor "undefined") to hear about his relationship with Harrison Ford, how he’s handling taking part in such a massive franchise, and more. The Rian Johnson-directed _Episode VIII_ will release on May 26, 2017, preceded by _Rogue One: A Star Wars Story_, which hits theaters on Dec. 16, 2016. _This_ [_article_](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/01/12/john-boyega-star-wars-episode-viii "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_EW.com_](http://ew.com "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4176925/john-boyega-star-wars-sequel/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4176925/john-boyega-star-wars-sequel/"},"headline":"John Boyega Says the Star Wars Sequel Will Be 'Much Darker'","datePublished":"2016-01-12T14:57:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:59:53.988Z","description":"JJ Abrams and Daisy Ridley also hinted about the force staying awake in Episode VIII","url":"https://time.com/4176925/john-boyega-star-wars-sequel/","keywords":["movies","Star Wars topic","daisy ridley","harrison ford","John Boyega","The Force Awakens"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd7ef51b0f2f3157/698875490b72e352196e7427/john-boyega-star-wars.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jonathon Dornbush / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd7ef51b0f2f3157/698875490b72e352196e7427/john-boyega-star-wars.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"john-boyega-star-wars","caption":"John Boyega in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.","creditText":"Lucasfilm Ltd.","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4176925/john-boyega-star-wars-sequel/","name":"John Boyega Says the Star Wars Sequel Will Be 'Much Darker'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Harrison Ford Is Now The Highest-Grossing Actor In The Country","description":"Ford has usurped Samuel Jackson as the highest-grossing actor in Hollywood.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/H0enaEa6/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-01-09T18:45:43.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/H0enaEa6.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4176925/john-boyega-star-wars-sequel/","duration":"PT1M","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4176925/john-boyega-star-wars-sequel/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```