Star Wars 8: The Last Jedi isn't an homage and pushes the franchise forward, says director Rian Johnson

Fun though Star Wars: The Force Awakens was, it felt like a bit of a retelling of the original Star Wars films and relied a lot on big reveals of beloved established characters.

Director Rian Johnson has taken care to avoid this with his sequel, The Last Jedi, however, which is more about "pushing everything forward".

"I guess I’d be hesitant to use the word ‘homage’ because that makes it sound like it’s just kind of turning the crank and replaying an old tune because we all like it,” he told SciFiNow. "But telling a story that brings new things and pushes everything forward in an interesting way, that is in this world that we all recognise, there’s something very powerful about that."

That said, Johnson understands the nostalgia for the originals.

"It’s very interesting, the idea of the inescapable draw of nostalgia, because it’s there and it’s impossible to deny the emotional reaction that I have walking onto the interior of the [Millennium] Falcon."

Disney is clearly very pleased with his work on The Last Jedi, recently announcing that it is entrusting him with a whole new Star Wars trilogy.