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

There's no critical issue I see with Abrams as a director, simply more room for improvement. The only fundamental flaw of TFA for me is that Starkiller Base was poorly set up and distracted from the much more intriguing narrative of finding Luke. With Episode IX, Abrams will need to bring narrative and thematic threads together to a (presumptive) conclusion, rather than going off in other tangential directions. At least I hope that's the case.

 

If you're LFL, your goal likely is creating the next Darth Vader. It's doubtful Snoke is meant to fill that role. That leaves options like Kylo, Rey, Luke, and some unknown character we haven't met.

Kylo seems the most likely of that bunch seeing as he's already pretty far down the path.

When they say they will explore his humanity, that's probably to add depth and tragedy to his arc.

 

While it is true RJ has created an aura around TLJ that makes a lot of us believe it is going to be a superior product than TFA (probably due to some very talented works by RJ prior to his SW involvement), JJ deserves some good credit because he is the one who created the characters we all know and love now, and cast a fantastic group of actors and actresses to interpret them.

So, while not perfect, I say may the Force be with you, JJ.

 

I agree on Takodana being the weakest part of TFA. There are elements of it that I really like, but I wished that more happened there (eg, altercations inside the castle before the FO arrives, and a large ground battle when they do).

 

ooh to me a perfect example is the sinking sands. to me the sinking sands did sooooo much for jakku (spielberg's idea?). that little detail made it feel like its own place. though so did the crashed star destroyers.

 

Scale is certainly one element Abrams could improve on. Most of the planets in TFA felt pretty insular.

 

Freaking out about IX becoming like LOST where nothing is answered is ridiculous. JJ knows what's in stake as he did with TFA.

 

Well, that's me happy! Folks, I think we are in good hands. I am so looking forward to the next two movies...I think this is going to be what we've waited for. Huzzah!

 

It's not a criticism of Daisy, John, Adam and Isaac actually. It's a feature of JJ's direction. He wants constant urgent excitement in his characters' acting and dialogue at almost all times. Almost like putting the Gilmore Girls or the cast of Newsroom in a space action movie and telling them to let loose. It's fine, it's just frantic, and frantic is not my favorite style. I prefer slow builds and crescendoes, like Cuaron, Nolan, Soderberg and Edwards often deliver.

But like I said, there are a lot of great elements of TFA, including the second-best ending in the series. I think it's mostly weighed down by Takodana (which I understand was rushed and rethought due to Ford's injury) and some of the Scooby Doo hijinx on SKB (the quick location of and tackling of Phasma on a planet-sized base, for example, coupled with a random run-in with Rey).

Tweak those a bit, and it's in the top three Star Wars films for sure. I believe JJ is aware of some of the flaws in his film, and is likely to deliver a more satisfying film with IX. Lastly, he at least understands the mythic archetypes and visual language of Star Wars, which are lost on even some prominent people at ILM...

Jodie Foster? Ha! Carrie's hilarious. I can't think of many people more different than Carrie in both personality and looks. Perfect.

As for Leia, I'm going to predict the following: RJ makes some minor tweaks to turn an uncertain end for Leia into a heroic sacrifice where her death is certain. IX then opens with a huge, elaborate and beautiful funeral for Leia, the end of which sets the stage for a major Resistance effort to defeat the First Order for good. Perhaps even a speech by Poe (her true son) at the conclusion of her funeral, or something, that launches the Resistance campaign in her image.

 

I've thought for a long time that Episode IX might not be the end. I've theorised that it could end with Kylo killing Snoke and becoming the new big threat -- a dark side apprentice killing his master and taking his place is something we've heard about but never actually seen. Or, in a dark twist on RotJ, it could end with Rey succumbing to the temptations of the dark side, killing Snoke, and becoming a villain herself; a powerful female villain would certainly be refreshing.

Snoke was originally going to be female. It's possible they haven't given up on the idea of the REAL big bad being female...

 

There can only be one Darth Vader As much as I love Kylo, he's not Vader. I do not think we need another Vader. He's still very much a part of the SW universe.

At any rate, I do not think we'll be getting another Vader or equivalent, especially in the sense of a ANH/RO Vader. I think the ST is going to be different from the OT, so while there were obvious parallels between OT characters and ST characters in Ep. 7 (such as Rey/Luke and Kylo/Vader) I think from Ep. 8 onwards, these characters are going to develop quite differently from their "predecessors."

 

if they want more vader (as i do) they could make more vader stories. we have a vader. he exists only during a certain period of time (but so does any character).

they could make stories back near the beginning of the jedi and sith with entirely new people.

it's endless what they could do. i really want more force stories in general. i would love ones that are only force stories without breaking it with the non-force plot.

 

For the last ****ing time, JJ only wrote the pilot to LOST.

 

Jodie Foster !

 

If by pilot you mean the series bible, plot outline, and the season 3 premiere then sure, he only wrote the ****ing pilot

 

You asked if he's ever written a satisfying conclusion, and referenced LOST, which implies that he wrote the conclusion of LOST and it wasn't satisfying. It's a deliberate twisting of reality to make a very weak point that JJ doesn't know how to conclude a story. If you want to make that case, stick to scripts and films where he actually wrote or directed a finale, for ****'s sake.

 

The truth is I don't necessarily disagree with your descriptions, when you elaborate with nuance like this. It's the harsher, shorter descriptives that get my goat.

And we mostly just diverge on whether we like or dislike it. Like, Rey and Finn's joyous talking over each other after escaping Jakku would be jarringly out of place in a film like, say, Dunkirk. In the saga of the GFFA though? I ****ing love it without reservation. It's impossible not to grin through those moments and indeed most of TFA for me. I honestly don't expect TLJ to diverge too far from the same tone, and I'm glad Abrams is bringing back his signature voice to the series.

And I tend to find I'm more malleable to an individual filmmaker's voice, whether it's Nolan or Abrams. If that voice comes through it's almost always a joy. But I appreciate that JJ's "voice" with actors, much as I love it, is not every last person's cup of tea.

 

i think this comes down to how people process the display and expression of emotion...

 

Well said. And honestly, just because it's not my preferred cup of tea, it doesn't mean I'm not grinning ear to ear while drinking it.

 

Well, it's JJs trilogy now in many ways. I think he will do just fine. He got 7 off his chest, so now he should have a bit more freedom with 9, especially since 8 will hopefully change things up a bit.


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JJ can give us a very satisfying final fight. I am excited by this news, and even more happy that IX has been moved back to december !

 

It's impossible to say since we don't know why he got to where he did in TFA. Neither did JJ. He only found out to some degree when he read TLJ. So what will happen after that is up to JJ informed by the set-up to and story in VIII that RJ came up with .

I wouldn't call it very subtle. I find it evident which creates an overall lack of weight in scenes. Lucas is accused of "rushing" as such but his storytelling is not dialogue based while for JJ his storytelling is more standard in terms of dialogue but he also wants to move everything along so many things simply don't give the mix of character, story, background and motivations.