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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

ST J.J. Abrams to direct and co-write Star Wars: Episode IX (see warning on page 34 before posting)

Discussion in 'Sequel Trilogy' started by soul8luos, Sep 12, 2017.

  1. jaqen

    jaqen Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 22, 2004

    Not at all.

    And didn't sources say RJ was offered first, but turned it down?
     
  2. Birkendoc

    Birkendoc Chosen One star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 2001

    I think that's it. We as viewers don't know the character's trajectories to even speculate what direction JJ is receiving them. So before we jump all over JJ and declare he's ruining IX, (actually, I encourage people to go back and read reviews for TFA. They really are refreshing to read nearly two years later) we need to know who's standing at the end of TLJ and what direction are each of them pointing.

    • Leia: She's the 600 pound gorilla in the room. And she's the character the vast majority are the most concerned about. There's no escaping the fact that Carrie Fisher has passed away, and we're all uneasy with Leia's trajectory. I have no doubt that Johnson has really given this great thought in post-production. He will have the first influence on a post-carrie sage. Does she live through TLJ? Does she die at the end? Those are the big first questions. And if she survives TLJ, where does JJ take her? It would be, in my opinion, a cheap parlor trick to keep her alive but offscreen for all of IX to keep the illusion alive. I suspect there will be a lot of collaboration between the RJ and JJ et al to bring her story to a proper conclusion. And honestly, I trust JJ a bamillion times more than I did CT to bring her final chapter to a proper and respectful close.
    • Luke: He was JJ's mystery box in TFA that Johnson needs to reveal. But where does he go heading into IX. As Star Wars, Inc has said many different ways, the ST is very much the next generation's story. For those looking for a story that is All About Luke, they may be disappointed by how he is portrayed. But that's not to say he plays a very important and pivotal supporting role in this saga. Does he make it out of TLJ alive? Does he survive IX. Does he die, going down the hero he always has been. Or does he get a farewell that is satisfying yet ambiguous on par with Bilbo Baggins sailing off for Tol Eressea? JJ reintroduced characters we all have known and loved for 40 years. It will be his job to bring their stories to a close with the care and reverence each deserves.
    • Rey: How does she conquer her shadow? Does she remain in the light? Does she descend into darkness only to emerge victorious and stronger on the other side? Does she, like Merida in Brave, fight for her own hand and define herself as a hero (the answer is yes by the way)? Does she need help from her friends and frenemies to complete the journey? After all , Star Wars has always been a team event.
    • Kylo: If Johnson intentionally plans to rip all of Kylo's internal scars and traumas open for the galaxy to see, what comes next? He's the Skywalker heir, so how does JJ put him back together? Does he remain evil and descend further into darkness, or does Ben Solo emerge from the facade that is Kylo Ren and reclaim his true birthright not as Vader's grandson but rather Anakin Skywalkers?
    • Finn: JJ set him free from being just a worker bee in the FO yet challenged him to take up a different cause. He's risen to the occasion thus far in his own hero's journey. What choices will he make, and where will his journey take him between TLJ and IX?
    So many of the variables are unknown at this point. So before we condemn JJ for a failure on a film that hasn't seen much in preproduction, we need to see what transpires in the Last Jedi and see what canvass he is given to paint the final chapter of this trilogy.
     
  3. BloodStripe

    BloodStripe Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jun 16, 1999
    That's fair. Finn, in particular, is regarded as largely a Kasdan creation.
     
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  4. Nipuhanipera

    Nipuhanipera Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 25, 2014
    Or maybe the superhero genre just isn't his thing? That happens. Ang Lee failed with Hulk, for example.
     
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  5. ewoksimon

    ewoksimon Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 26, 2009
    Whatever the final duel in Episode IX looks like, I hope Abrams opts for a better way to stage it. Parts of the forest duel in TFA are nicely executed, but others are a bit messy.
     
  6. afrojedi

    afrojedi Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2015
    At the very least, this saga becomes largely a JJ/Rian thing and not the potentially disjointed pass the stick storytelling of JJ, Rian and Colin. That said a concern I have is about JJ sticking the landings. He's great coming out of the blocks, sometimes the wrapping up part needs more polish.
     
  7. Darth_Articulate

    Darth_Articulate Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2012
    Because of course they would be *terrified* of whiny internet fan speak. I would think, however, that were they to replace Carrie because of story demands, they would focus on acting ability first, resemblance second.
     
  8. Darth Chiznuk

    Darth Chiznuk Superninja of Future Films star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Oct 31, 2012
    Several users have now been banned. If you'd like to join them then please continue the PT vs ST crap that we've warned you several times to drop. There's plenty of space left in the Unban Request forum I assure you.
     
  9. Chewies_bandolier

    Chewies_bandolier Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    May 5, 2002

    Ok.

    How about:

    Leia is an iconic character associated with the late American actor, Carrie Fisher. Her multitude of grieving fans (whiny or not) can reasonably be expected to be upset about her being replaced by another actor, irrespective of how the story would be served. This may affect the commercial potential of the product which will give shareholders a reduced profit margin and may harm the brand in the long turn.
     
  10. Birkendoc

    Birkendoc Chosen One star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 2001

    Not really.

    It could be a simple as RJ didn't want to work 5 years non-stop on Star Wars. Whoever is now running IX with screenwriting and pre-production needs to start now. Rian is still in post-production for TLJ and would likely be spreading himself too thin to a do an efficient and proper job on both if he was trying to juggle too many things at once.

    And JJ has made it public he hates uprooting his family. He wasn't ever scheduled to do TLJ because that means he and his family would be residing in England for five years. Neither of these writer/directors wanted to be the next Peter Jackson where they put their lives on hold for 5 + years and focus on one saga. There are few that are willing to do just that.
     
  11. Darth_Articulate

    Darth_Articulate Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2012
    I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that vital story demands which are left unmet will ultimately effect the long term audience demand for the product more than any short term boycotting arising from fans that can't let go of their personal attachments. A well told, compelling story keeps the audience enthralled and coming back and far outlives stubborn clinging to the past. Carrie Fisher brought something unique to the character of Leia to the 5 movies in which she portrayed her. That doesn't mean another actress can't, just as skillfully, bring their own unique take. I'm not suggesting the character be in the movie just for the sake of the character being in the movie, but if the story demands it, it is the responsibility of the artists involved to make it happen. If not, then not.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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  12. DarkMark

    DarkMark Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Apr 6, 2002
    I'd be fine with Jodie Foster being brought in to play Leia, on the basis that Carrie would find it hilarious, having joked for years about being fired from ANH and replaced with Foster.
     
  13. Bob Effette

    Bob Effette Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 20, 2015

    Any person so enamoured with the late Carrie Fisher that they would be so upset about another actress taking up the role to serve the story (a potential aspect of any professional actor's career) that they would boycott the movie doesn't deserve to be called a Star Wars fan at all.
     
  14. ThisHurricane

    ThisHurricane Jedi Knight star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 9, 2015
    I was saying I hope JJ doesnt rehash Rotj like he did Anh.
     
  15. Darth_Articulate

    Darth_Articulate Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2012
    That would also serve as the ultimate tribute to Carrie!


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  16. gezvader28

    gezvader28 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Mar 22, 2003
    oh . Now I'm worried .
     
  17. Darth Chiznuk

    Darth Chiznuk Superninja of Future Films star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Oct 31, 2012
    Please take the Carrie Fisher discussion to the Carrie Fisher thread. Thank you. :)
     
  18. ewoksimon

    ewoksimon Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 26, 2009
    Right, and among the scheduling difficulties, it's also worth pointing out that jumping straight into Episode IX after TLJ would have been a herculean task for any director. Johnson spent almost four years working on TLJ. It's like asking a mother who's just given birth when she wants to have another baby.
     
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  19. Chewies_bandolier

    Chewies_bandolier Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    May 5, 2002
    Well that is your opinion, to which you are entitled, as I am to mine, which is that the risk of a backlash from replacing a beloved and very recently deceased actor, will outweigh whatever the benefits may be, to the story.

    In my opinion, though you are correct in stating that another actor may bring their own, unique take on Leia, which may serve the story well, my position is (as she is now, a 60-year-old Leia - which Carrie's face etched on her for the last 40 years in our collective memories), she and the character, through Carrie's external identification with Leia (viz "Leia is me and I am Leia") are not so easily discarded. Replacing Carrie at this stage of the game and so soon after her passing, may arguably serve to diminish her contribution by demonstrating that she is after all, replaceable, and therefore, "not Leia".

    The compromise may be that Leia's greater story, between VIII and IX, is told in another forum - as a book for example, in order to both serve the scaffolding of the ultimate as well as to preserve our collective consciousness of Carrie's contribution to Leia.

    Somewhat off topic - but one could argue that Indiana Jones sequels, could be better served in the future by recasting a somewhat more vigorous actor than a 70+ year old Harrison Ford (with the caveat before I am crucified, that a 70+-year-old Harrison Ford, is in better shape than a 30-year-old me). Obviously, this is not going to happen.

    EDIT: Carrie Fisher wall of text hidden as I am too tired to type it anywhere else (or copy paste) and only just read the above.
     
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  20. miasma

    miasma Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 29, 2013
    You know, while I do have a few minor concerns about JJ, I have to say that the more I think about it, the more I'm glad that the guy who started the trilogy will be the guy who closes it. It brings a cohesiveness to the whole thing. Besides that, I don't really know whether or not he's good at ending multi-part stories,and I'm curious to find out. He gets a lot of flack for botching the ending of Lost, despite the fact that he had absolutely nothing to do with how Lost ended. Who knows, maybe if he HAD ended Lost, he would have done a great job. It's anybody's guess.
    He also gets blamed for botching the ending of "Super 8," and yeah, that movie didn't have the greatest ending, but it's not comparable to SW because it was just one movie. If people expected him to screw up the ending of TFA based on what he did with Super 8, that would be a fair comparison and concern, but he didn't screw up the ending of TFA, so it's a moot point. Some people have pointed out that he kind of screwed up "Into Darkness," but that was basically a stand-alone movie, not a conclusion to "Star Trek."
    And as others have pointed out, I don't think he will have complete control over how the ST ends, anyway. We've already seen that KK does not shy away from yanking people off a project if she thinks they aren't doing it right. So all these fears about "Oh, nothing will get answered! He'll just dump more mystery boxes all over the place!" aren't really valid concerns. If he does start doing that, chances are we'll see an official announcement from Lucasfilm stating, "JJ Abrams and Lucasfilm have mutually decided to part ways, but we wish him the very best."
     
  21. Strongbow

    Strongbow Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 6, 2014
    He didn't rehash ANH. Look deeper.
     
  22. ThreeDeathstickProblem

    ThreeDeathstickProblem Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 25, 2014
    This is a great point. If IX can have an ending as iconic and fulfilling as (I consider) TFA's ending, we're in for a treat.
     
  23. UK Sullustian

    UK Sullustian Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 1998
    Recasting Leia isn't the worse idea. (I had always thought she was going to die in TLJ after the rumours of Carries behaviour in TFA.)

    I do feel they've missed the point with these films. It may make others look more fondly on previous episodes.

    I do mourn the films that could have been made in the nineties. They would have been very cool.
     
  24. A Chorus of Disapproval

    A Chorus of Disapproval Head Admin & TV Screaming Service star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Aug 19, 2003
    IX will end with Leia and Chewie finally acknowledging each other and hugging.

    And you all thought JJ missed that in VII...
     
  25. Xael

    Xael Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 1, 2015

    Exactly, whatever you think about the way Luke was handled in TFA, you cannot deny that that was one hell of an ending to the movie. Between the scenery, John Williams' score, and the final reveal of Luke, it was pure bliss IMO.

    Now imagine an ending like that, but even more meaningful, being the end of a whole trilogy and the journey of our characters.