Star Wars Episode 8 is like 'an independent film,' says Oscar Isaac

The Poe Dameron actor sheds light on what fans can expect from Rian Johnson's sequel

It's unsurprising that practically nothing is known about Star Wars: Episode VIII other than its director, cast and the fact it will pick up where The Force Awakens left us dangling back in December.

One of the series' returning cast members, Oscar Isaac - who plays fighter pilot Poe Dameron - has assured fans that the next instalment will be something altogether different to its predecessors.

“Rian is definitely going to places and investigating things that haven’t really been done in the Star Wars universe,” the actor said in an interview with the LA Times.

“For me, it’s so fun getting to explore different things that I wouldn’t have expected in this universe.”

The Inside Llewyn Davis actor continued: “In some ways it feels like we’re making an independent film. Certain things we get to play with - this kind of intimacy that we get to find - it’s special.”

Director JJ Abrams recently revealed that Isaac was so fed up of his characters dying in films that he made him re-write the film's original script which saw Dameron killed off.

The as-of-yet untitled Episode VIII will be released December 2017, a year after spin-off prequel Rogue One hits cinemas.