The Six Films that Influenced Rian Johnson with Star Wars: Episode VIII

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

Synopsis: “A British officer and prisoner of war, is forced to work to build a bridge for his Japanese captors, and all the while the Allied Forces are working to destroy that same bridge.”

Could this be a hint to opposing forces in Star Wars: Episode VIII, working together to reach an ultimate and much larger/important goal? Which faction would be represented by the Japanese, and which faction the British officer and his men?

IGN posits that Leia and her son, Kylo Ren, could possibly join forces in order to defeat Supreme Leader Snoke. This is based on the fact that Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson (portrayed by Obi-Wan actor from A New Hope — Alec Guinness) ends up agreeing to work with the commandant of the Japanese prison-camp,  Colonel Saito, toward the completion of the bridge.

Whether certain characters in the film are able to put aside their own differences, in order to work together for one purpose, or if much larger factions join forces, the fact that The Bridge on the River Kwai is on this list, means there will probably be a teaming-up of opposite sides, in Episode VIII.

Next: Three Outlaw Samurai