ST Rian Johnson to write and direct Episode VIII (and also new SW Trilogy - see page 194)

He was joking, of course. There's a retro sticker with Vader from ANH that says 'light saber'...

 

Even if he wasn't joking, noone can actually be suggesting that this would indicate an inability to make a good Star Wars film, are they? I'd actually rather have a non-Star Wars nut direct these films. The fan fervor can cloud good sense.

 

Agreed.

Someone mentioned Whedon? Please no. Brad Bird is my choice.

 

I have nightmares of a Whedon Star Wars film, where 7 iconic characters come together at the same time and the same place and say, in unison, "I have a bad feeling about this."

 

Is it really out of the realm of possibilities that George could come back for Ep IX?

Simply because he no longer owns Lucasfilm doesn't mean he's magically not a filmmaker/director anymore, and it seems like his original ambition was to start and end SW

 

I think Lucas is done with mainstream Hollywood movies his last mainstream Hollywood Movie was Strange Magic which I plan to see when it hits my discount Theater, my sister and her 7 year old son saw Strange Magic and they loved It !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!​

 

Out of a fading sense of loyalty to George Lucas, I watched Strange Magic with my young nephew. That's all I (and he) have to say about it.

 

If what we've heard and feared is true about TFA, poor Rian's got his work cut out for him in a big way!

 

Why? To me, it sounds like Rian may have a great set of characters and storylines to work with.

 

Yeah I would agree with it sounds like JJ left a lot of the juicier stuff for Johnson to work with.

I'm guessing Ep. VII will be more of a character driven, personal movie, Ep. VIII is then free to be the bigger spectacle type of movie.

 

I dig Rian Johnson but I think a different director for Episode 9 would have a nice callback to the OT with each director working on a different film. However, it should be noted in a lot of Hollywood blockbuster franchsing nowadays, if the producers find a director they like for a franchise, they hook them up to it for multiple installments (the last 4 Harry Potter movies were directed by the same guy. Who I thought did a bang-up job, BTW).

 

Wasn't Marquand basically a bust as a director on Jedi though? As in Lucas ended up having to direct most of the movie basically? I don't know how much truth there is to that, but that's kinda the story that's been out there.

Those rumors though may be profoundly unfair to Marquand.

 

I always thought the movie was pretty much directed by Lucas over his shoulder but the more I read and the more I hear it sounds like this is just a popular myth.

 

It is a popular myth. Lucas took over, but only after the film was delivered to post-production. He didn't direct over anyone's shoulder. But he did take total charge of post.

I'm currently watching Brothers Bloom on Netflix right now (well, my wife is. I'm typing bs into tiny boxes on the internet in the same room) and man - it is GOOD. So good.

 

Kind of a shame then that Marquand got stuck with that reputation. I guess maybe it comes from him not being as savvy with shooting special effects shots? The logistics of that could be mind-numbing for anyone though I would have to think.

It's sad too that he died just a few years after Jedi.

Love Jedi or not, I've never heard anyone complain about the Vader-Luke-Emperor scenes. Those are the heart of the movie, and those scenes all work as well as anything in Empire.

 

Part of why that reputation stuck with him is that he didn't live long enough to defend himself. And Lucas did and said nothing to dispel those rumors, as far as I can tell.

 

Not exactly on topic of this thread but I was thinking about just that the other day, and I must say it's pretty sad indeed. He had a great career ahead of him and SW was just what he needed to get his name into the big time field. He had so much potential too

 

Don't know anything about Rian Johnson, never watched watched any of his movies so it will be a complete surprise. I hope he can respect Lucas creative decisions no matter of his opinion of the movies.

 

In the last few days I saw Looper and the Brothers Bloom (available on Netflix) for the first time. I'm impressed. Looper had an interesting concept and was an entertaining movie. The Brothers Bloom was a great movie--the story, writing, characters, acting, directing, etc. Based on only those two movies, Rian Johnson is definitely an interesting choice.

And he directed some of the best episodes of Breaking Bad (and that is saying something)

 

Brick is his best film. Watch it.

 

Rian Johnson IS a Star Wars nut. I'm not worried about his judgement getting clouded - Kennedy has judged him to be the guy and clearly Disney agrees.

The only fans who seem to suffer from the "fervour" are the ones you'll set here

Can you explain?

 

Assuming TFA isn't a total dud (and I don't think it will be that), Johnson is a good fit for EP VIII and will do a good job I'm sure. I'm much more positive about VIII than I am for TFA because I think Johnson has a better, more natural eye, and will be bolder with creative choices.

 

Yeah, the force awakens doesn't seem to be playing it safe. At the same time, I'm willing to bet it'll be quite a good movie. Do I think Johnson will do even better? Possibly, who knows but I think both directors/writers ( Abrams/Johnson) will compliment each others movies quite well. I think both their styles will gel well together movie after movie.