'Star Wars: Episode 8' release date, plot rumors: will Kylo Ren be wearing Vader's cape next time?

Kylo Ren faces Finn and Rey in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' starwars.com / Disney

The long-running "Star Wars" franchise continues to expand as several new movies and video games are set to be released in the coming years. The upcoming stand-alone movie, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," which is set in the same timeframe as the trilogies, will be released at the end of the year.

However, some fans are more interested in the next installment of the franchise's third main "Star Wars" trilogy, "Star Wars: Episode 8."

While not a lot is known just yet regarding the plot of the next movie, several leaks and rumors have started to circulate online. These rumors have given fans a small peak at what will be coming and how the next movie will be shaping the different characters involved.

According to the latest rumors, the next movie will be featuring a new look for the main antagonist, Kylo Ren. The force user and son of Princess Leia Organa and General Han Solo was previously revealed in the last movie to have an unhealthy obsession with his grandfather, Anakin Skywalker a.k.a. Darth Vader.

The reports have revealed that Kylo Ren may be sporting Vader's cape, or perhaps something that is similar to what Vader was wearing in "Star Wars Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back" and "Star Wars Episode 6: Return of the Jedi."

Several reports have also speculated that Ren's new cape may be the actual cape that Vader was wearing, and that Kylo Ren may have obtained the apparel the same way that  he was able to get his hands on the scorched skull and helmet of the fallen Sith Lord.

Sources who are privy to the production of the upcoming movie have, however, revealed that the cape will not be sporting the same chain clasp that was found on Vader's cape, which means that it might have been redesigned in some way.

"Star Wars: Episode 8" is scheduled to be released on December 17, 2017.

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