Here's everything we know so far about 'Star Wars: Episode VIII,' the sequel to 'Force Awakens'

Get ready to hear the name Rian Johnson a lot throughout the next year. Though he's only made three feature films going into "Episode VIII," those movies include stunning works like the modern-day film noir "Brick" and sci-fi mobster movie "Looper," which have shown he's ready for the largest stage in filmmaking.

And he also directed some of the most memorable "Breaking Bad" episodes, including "Fly" and "Ozymandias" (arguably the greatest episode of the series).

Here's more about Johnson you need to know.

At Star Wars Celebration, Johnson revealed that while writing the script for "Episode VIII," he spent six weeks at Skywalker Ranch. But he wasn't just taking inspiration from the grounds that "Star Wars" creator George Lucas walks. He also had an eye on "The Force Awakens."

"We would watch dailies come in from 'VII,'" Johnson told the Celebration crowd. "It was probably really healthy creating the story based on our reactions to the footage rather than the cultural reactions. It was a unique experience."

Before principal photography began in London on "Episode VIII," Johnson and his crew took actors Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and Daisy Ridley (Rey) to Skellig Michael, the island where the final scene of "The Force Awakens" took place, to shoot an extension of the scene.

That will be the opening of "Episode VIII," according to Johnson.

"I don't want to skip ahead [after] that last moment of 'Episode VII.' I want to see what happens next," Johnson said.

This has sparked an interesting conversation among fans. Will there be an opening crawl in "Episode VIII"? There are typically months to years between "Star Wars" episodes, so the crawl brings the audience up to speed. Johnson did not say if there will or will not be a crawl in the new movie.

Many fans and critics took notice of all the hallmarks from the original trilogy in "The Force Awakens." Lucas said Disney described it to him as a movie "for the fans."

But it sounds like that will change at least a bit in "Episode VIII."

"The second film is where we zoom into the characters, getting to the heart of them and challenging them," Johnson said.

Though Leia, Luke, Han (more on him below), Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2 will all return, it sounds like for this episode we're going to get deeper into the new generation of characters.

There are no details yet on the characters these actors will play in the movie, but we're excited by the possibilities.

If you're still shaken up by Han's death in "The Force Awakens," it sounds like you can have some closure in "Episode VIII."

Carrie Fisher let it slip during Celebration that there will be a funeral scene for Solo.

Moderator Warwick Davis asked Fisher what she knew about what went on with her character and others between "Return of the Jedi" and "The Force Awakens," but she clearly thought the question was about what happens after "Force Awakens."

Fisher answered, "Han's funeral."

She quickly fixed the mistake, but there's a very good chance we're going to see a proper send-off for Han in "Episode VIII."

Mark Hamill was also at Celebration, and the actor told the audience that Luke will definitely have dialogue in the new movie, unlike what we saw in "Force Awakens."

"I was looping [recording additional dialogue] ‘Episode VIII’ yesterday," he said. "Rian Johnson is amazing. His dialogue will make you forget 'May the Force be with you.'"

Now that's quite a statement.

With Celebration over, the next big fan event is Comic-Con in San Diego, which begins on Thursday.

Though Disney will not have a large presence at the event, there's hope that the studio has kept a few "Star Wars" goodies to unleash while it goes on.

A teaser poster of "Episode VIII" or the announcement of the movie's title would be great.