I also don't want to see the same thing over and over.

If Rey is Luke 2, Kylo is Vader 2, Snoke is Palpatine 2, and the First Order is Empire 2 then nothing is really being added to the story of the Skywalkers. It will be an utterly pointless retread.

I really like Episode VII, but the story of the ST needs to be relevant and bold. Rey becoming the villain isn't a twist for twist's sake: it's a way to connect the ST to the PT: (the lure of the dark side turned hero into villain) while adding a fresh concept (Kylo being tempted by the light is an original concept in Star Wars, and his "turn" would be thought-provoking - can a bad person become a good person? - and emotionally challenging - should I be cheering for the guy who fucking KILLED Han Solo?)

Well of course it can be argued that we've already seen the effects of the 'pull of the light' on a character... namely Anakin/Darth Vader. So I personally don't think Kylo turning good or Rey turning bad is unique in and of itself (it's just Anakin split across two seperate characters). I believe the way to go is by making their fall/redemption (if that's where they are going) compelling and organic in its narrative progression. I'd welcome Rey turning bad, and Kylo turning good, not because I think it unique to Star Wars, but rather that it at least juxtaposes two characters on a similar journey, but with different destinations.

Next to nothing revealed about this movie so far and I love it!! We've barely had any leaked set pics or videos compared to two years ago, waiting for TFA. And no major leaks of concept art or story information.

Long way to go but I'm liking this seemingly magnetic sealing. Keep it up, LFL/Disney! Keep us blind and hungry!

We are likely going to see Luke talk to R2-D2 in this movie, and that has me giddy.

We got a teaser for TFA on Thanksgiving Weekend 2014. An Ep. 8 teaser could drop in the next 4 weeks, assuming the marketing timing for Ep. 8 lines up with that of TFA.

But could the movie-going audience confuse Ep. 8 with Rogue One? Could an Ep. 8 trailer steal thunder from Rogue One's opening?

Now that we're in the thick of the Disney release schedule, will be interesting to see how this is handled.

There's probably a lot of high-paid Disney executives trying to figure the timing out. My solution is to attach a theater-only Episode VIII trailer to Rogue One.

In terms of the trailer footage itself, my guess is it will be similar to the TFA teaser. In turn, it will be shot of ST characters (Finn, Rey, Poe, BB-8, Hux, and Ren) followed by an icnoic OT image. In the TFA trailer, the money shot included the Millennium Falcon. This time around, I'm hoping its footage of Luke with his ignited ROTJ lightsaber.

I actually don't think we get any E8 footage until well into Rogue One's theatrical run, and maybe not until early spring. Rogue One's first teaser came out in April.

Episode 7 was a special case - the first Star Wars movie in a decade, the first without Lucas, and the first of a long-rumoured ST starring the most classic trio of heroes in cinema history. Star Wars is back so I don't think they need to build a year-long hype for Episode 8.

They also run the risk of Star Wars releases not being "special" events with the back-to-back glut ahead. I also don't think we'll see Episode 8 footage until the Rogue One train has passed.

I would guess February with the Super Bowl or Oscars would be the earliest time for an Episode VIII teaser, but even that might be too close to Rogue One's release.

I would say Super-Bowl. That is close to 2 months into Rogue One's theatrical release.

Gone are the days of "theatre only" trailer releases.

Was hoping for a title by now.

The title may show-up in spring 2017 (along with the trailer).