"Star Wars: Episode VIII" is already the most hotly anticipated film in coming years.

Fans are already rather interested in seeing the direction of the next movie, which goes into full-blown production in early 2016. The newest movie, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," left a lot of plot holes, but also seemed to justify the notion that these films will provide structural echoes of previous installments.

If this is the case, viewers should expect some elements from "Episodes II" and "V" in the second installment of this new trilogy. One major component of both of those films is romance.

"The Empire Strikes Back" gave audiences the first true romance in a galaxy far, far away with Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Leia (Carrie Fisher) slowly but surely falling for each other. "Attack of the Clones" brought Padme (Natalie Portman) and Anakin's (Hayden Christensen) romance to the forefront.

So who will fall in love in "Episode VIII?"

Movie logic, and the "Star Wars" universe, indicate that it has to be two of the good guys from the central trio. In the new series, that trio seems to be made up of Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac).

The most obvious answer is that Rey and Finn wind up falling for each, especially given how their relationship was the crux of "The Force Awakens." Moreover, Poe and Rey never had any interactions, so it would be a big task to get the two together.

That is assuming that heterosexual love is the only kind of love allowed in "Star Wars."

Another important factor to bring up is that in the previous love stories, the love came from two characters going on a journey together, while the third piece in the triangle went off on his own mission. While Leia and Han fell for each other, Luke (Mark Hamill) was off training. While Anakin and Padme got together, Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) was off exploring Kamino.

One could intuit that Rey is going to be spending a lot of time away training with Luke, and it might be possible that Finn and Poe wind up going on a journey. Could we see the first homosexual romance in "Star Wars?"

Rian Johnson is known to buck convention, so he could move the series in a very different direction. So that might not be out of the realm altogether.

There are also other possibilities, however. There are rumors of another female character joining the cast, and it might be possible that she comes into the picture to disrupt the brewing romance between Finn and Rey.

Or we could see something even more compelling altogether.

Rey and Kylo Ren's (Adam Driver) relationship is ambiguous at the moment. We have no idea if they are cousins or brother and sister or simply no relation whatsoever.

What if they were unrelated and Kylo Ren had started to fall in love with Rey, sensing an equal in her and, like Anakin, someone who can rule the galaxy with him. And what if on a different encounter, Rey sees him in a different light, more vulnerable and more understanding of his own weaknesses? What if she falls in love with him and then the struggle becomes killing off someone she desperately wants to save?

We still have about 1.5 years to wait to find out.

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