Lucasfilm released an announcement video a couple of weeks ago to kick off production on Star Wars: Episode VIII, showing just a tiny glimpse of footage that made it look as if Rian Johnson was picking up where J.J. Abrams left off. If you had any doubts that Episode VIII would begin where The Force Awakens ends, Daisy Ridley has confirmed that this is definitely the case — and that Luke Skywalker will have much more to do this time around.

MTV caught up with Ridley on the Oscars red carpet, where the actor spoke a bit about filming Episode VIII, confirming that it does indeed pick up where The Force Awakens left off:

Me and Mark [Hamill] have been rehearsing a lot, and it’s really amazing. When we went back to Skellig to do the opening of VIII, it was so crazy doing the same scene with a different crew of people. He’s amazing to rehearse with, and I’m very excited to be doing the rest of the stuff.

Previous Star Wars sequels have jumped forward in time, but Ridley suggests that Episode VIII will begin with the final scene from The Force Awakens, with Rey handing the legendary lightsaber to its owner, Luke Skywalker. In addition to praising the story of Episode VIII, Ridley says, “Luke is so cool in this one. Really.” We had assumed that Mark Hamill would get more to do this time around, after sitting 99 percent of The Force Awakens out due to Luke’s self-imposed exile.

Star Wars: Episode VIII doesn’t hit theaters until December 15, 2017, which gives us plenty of time to continue speculating about Rey’s parentage — a question that will be answered in the sequel.

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