'Star Wars: Episode 8' Director Rian Johnson Teases Mid Shoot with Set Photos!

After J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens became the third highest-grossing film of all time after its release last year, there are a lot of expectations set on the film's follow-up, the still-untitled Episode 8. Unlike its predecessor, the Rian Johnson-directed sequel has found no issues during London filming -- and it's now officially mid-production!

The Looper director took to his Tumblr blog last Thursday to announce the world that production for Episode 8 was already halfway through, and he celebrated this the way he usually does: with a couple of sweet snaps from the set!

"Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the microfiber sham," Johnson captioned the two new photos.

As Inverse points out, the first new image shows a Resistance X-Wing fighter talking to an unspecified member of the crew while in front of a map. It's unclear who the character is, but it certainly doesn't look like Oscar Isaac's star pilot Poe Dameron, so could this be one of the new cast members?

The second pic taken out of Johnson's Tumblr features a crewmember next to one of the First Order actors, and they're looking at a console that looks as retro as though it was part of the original trilogy. Even better, the actor is wearing a shiny, black helmet that will strike any fan of the saga as looking just like the back of Darth Vader's head.

True to form, Lucasfilm has kept tight-lipped about the future of the Star Wars franchise when it comes to new stories. Though it's clear there's at least two sequels to Force Awakens and a few other stand-alone related films starting with this year's Rogue One and following a Han Solo origin movie and possibly a Boba Fett, the studio has remained silent on where the saga's story is going from here on out.

Star Wars: Episode 8 will reach theaters on Dec. 15, 2017.

“Good. Bad. I’m the guy with the microfiber sham.”