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

If you were a die-hard "Force Awakens" fan, chances are, more than six months later, you're more than a little hungry for some updates about the sequel to the "Star Wars" movie.

Star Wars Celebration Europe took place in London over the weekend, and plenty came out of it. Headlines ranged from new footage of the first standalone "Star Wars" movie, "Rogue One" (opening December 16), to the official announcement that Alden Ehrenreich will play young Han Solo in a movie dedicated to the space smuggler.

But at the three-day event, there were also little nuggets revealed about the continuation of the main "Star Wars" story, "Episode VIII."

Below is everything we know so far about the movie (which comes out December 15, 2017), from the mouths of stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and writer/director Rian Johnson.

Warning: spoilers ahead.

SEE ALSO: Everything you nee to know about the next "Star Wars" movie, "Rogue One"

Not familiar with Rian Johnson? He directed the hit sci-fi movie "Looper."

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.

Johnson spent six weeks at the Lucasfilm headquarters, Skywalker Ranch, figuring out the "Episode VIII" story.

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."

The movie will start right where "The Force Awakens" ended.

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.