John Boyega is back to keeping secrets for the much darker Star Wars 8

We already knew Star Wars: Episode VIII had started filming, with Mark Hamill spotted last year in Ireland wearing full Jedi gear. Now we have more details from John Boyega, Harrison Ford's best friend and ex-Stormtrooper.

Speaking to Vogue Boyega says "we just starting work on Star Wars 8, the next film, so I’m back to keeping secrets again." Obviously the events of the next film are hugely guarded, but Daisy Ridley's already praised Rian Johnson's script and JJ Abrams apparently thought it was so good he wished he was directing it instead of Rian. Boyega also has good things to say, calling the story "great" and hinting that we might see a similar Empire Strikes Back-styled, less optimistic narrative: "[it’s] much darker, but we’re very excited."

Interestingly, the actor seems to be suggesting he'll have a little more to do this time. When asked about training for The Force Awakens he explained that he didn't really do that much; "we really just took it scene by scene, there wasn’t a huge regime". For Star Wars 8, however, he says his role will be "much more physical so I might be in the gym a bit more." I wonder if there's any more of Star Wars' Traitor Troopers left to fight?

Directed by Rian Johnson and (definitely) starring Mark Hamill, John Boyega, and Daisy Ridley, Star Wars: Episode VIII will hit cinemas on May 26, 2017.

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Leon Hurley
Managing editor for guides

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for guides, which means I run GamesRadar's guides and tips content. I also write reviews, previews and features, largely about horror, action adventure, FPS and open world games. I previously worked on Kotaku, and the Official PlayStation Magazine and website.