ST What's "the hook" that Lucasfilm will be betting on, which sells Ep IX as a must-see blockbuster?

*scratches head*

Well SW has already become Marvel with the one movie a year attitude.

As far as the 10 main characters, I get where you are coming from, but as @Solo88, you shouldn't have to kill all of the old characters in one sitting to make a good movie.

The main hook for me for 9 is the guarantee no killing of old characters. It is just too predictable and for me it is distracting. To me a character's passing should come in the context of the story. If it's emotional, believable, and progresses the story, such as Obi Wan, Vader, and Han, then yes by all means.

But when you eliminate characters like Ackbar and Luke, just to eliminate them to even the playing field, then it's like meh. And in 9, if it's an all out war between the two sides, wouldn't you want to see as many possible to show up in one final matchup to win the galaxy? Just my opinion.

 

Dunno if you ever played Jedi Outcast / Jedi Academy, but they managed to tell stories with active and memorable protagonists who shared the same galaxy as Luke Skywalker in his prime, and yet weren't overshadowed for it at all, only enhanced. They intersected where appropriate in their stories, but they had their own journey to go on, and at most worked with Luke but were ultimately the one there to solve the problem. Luke could offer guidance, and maybe be involved in some capacity, but he couldn't be everywhere at once and doing everybody's destiny for them, just like Yoda and Windu couldn't singlehandedly do the job of all the other Jedi characters in the prequel movies and Clone Wars show, people are spread out and it comes down to who is where and what their connections to those events are.

They even managed to get basic story pillars of the Star Wars universe right, like the importance of training for a Jedi, and how those who 'cheat' with the force for auto-powers are at a disadvantage to those who worked for it, almost like an anti-Sequel Trilogy story.

 

Totally different media.
Thrawn trilogy was the perfect ST for me, that was something great but it was books and you CANT recreate that world in a few movies. There is only 120 minutes and you have to sacrifice something. Luke's end was perfect story for me and now I can focus on new characters. That is the hook for me in Ep IX and of course also in RJ trilogy and GoT guys films. No hook in Boba Fett movie or "underworld"

 

This is fascinating. We know that Zahn wanted to use a clone of Obi-Wan as the main villain. Lucas film made him change it C'boath (or whatever his name was..)

BUT - Now with the PT, we've seen Obi-Wan discover a cloning factory! The ST could have easily reworked the Thrawn Trilogy (made better obviously and everyone aged significantly) and used Ewan as a clone Obi-Wan.

That would have been very interesting! Combined that with a range of Luke, Leia and Han children. Perhaps moving Mara Jade as less Emperors Hand and more Thrawns. Evil Clone Luuke could be done via SFX. Mara would probably be a blend of EU Mara, Rey and some form of Solo daughter.

Maybe it would drift quite far from the books, but that wouldn't be "bad".

 

Thinking this over, it occurred to me that the "hook" needed for IX is right there in front of them. It's all about one person-REY.

2019 will perpetuate the female hero mania. Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman, and a bigger role for Jasmine in Aladdin continue that. And not to mention Anna and Elsa. By the time IX comes out, they can be pushing Rey as THE female hero of the year. Don't come out and say that as it sounds really corny. But through marketing, market her and subtly make her into some kind of super hero of sorts. Then make the movie center around her, the way it needed to happen in TLJ.

 

Id only buy into that if it was a package deal which included 'theres more to Reys parentage than you think you know....'. (Ultimately revealed to be Rey Kenobi / Rey Palpatine etc etc - no TLJ subversions).

 

Umm...so you're saying there's no reason to make Rey the focus considering she was meant to be the focus of this trilogy in the first place? That's regardless of whether her parents are important or not?

So if they end Rey's parentage story with what Kylo said, there's no further reason to focus on her? Because that's what I get from what you posted.

Remember, every successful movie or movie franchise has one or more characters (usually one) that is front and center to the marketing. Hence the success of Marvel. The only exceptions are those that put visualization (Avatar) or symbolism (Jurassic World-dinosaurs) in the driver seat. SW no longer has the visualization or symbolism that it had back in 1977. It needs to center around character. Luke and Kylo's story took center stage in TLJ while Rey was horribly marginalized. Her whole trek to see Luke became a mission to find out what happened to Kylo. IX NEEDS to be Rey's movie.

 

What reason is there to believe that Rey was ever meant to be the focus of this trilogy? TFA from JJ gave both her and Ren focus so if there was any "plan" then it was the two of them then TLJ threw that out and made it about Ren.

I expect that JJ will do the same and finish his story as best he can with the both of them. Presuming it's set some time afterward that allows him to shape Ren anyway he wants to and not be beholden to anything that RJ did with the character because the way RJ worked it he had Ren as this irredeemable monster but as with many things he did from Luke to Snoke to Rey and then Ren there are escapes for every situation.

So JJ can insert any hook he wants to without explanation as per the methodology of this trilogy and that he himself and RJ have both already done.

No reason to think that it will be otherwise. There might be some very slim ambiguous ideas thrown around but I doubt there will be much substance to them. We'll have to draw it out from how it relates to the other movies.

 

Errr....the fact that everyone involved (up until Rian) said that she was. That included (most importantly) KK and JJ. Take that away and you suddenly extinguish the entire idea of having the main protagonist being female. Sure, Rian made TLJ more about Kylo. But that's exactly my point. Rey was shown to be someone VERY important in TFA and Rian put her aside quite a bit. But there was never anything contradicting the idea that Rey is THE hero and THE main protagonist in this trilogy. This is her journey and in the current climate of main female protagonists, there's no reason not to continue that and put it on the forefront in IX.

If what you say is true and TFA was about both of them and TLJ was about Kylo, then it would make sense that IX would be mostly about Rey. In TLJ, Rey's purpose was to support the conflict between Luke and Kylo. Now it's time for Kylo (and possibly Luke as a ghost) to support Rey's fulfillment.

 

Well that may be what they say but not what they show.

TFA was largley about Finn, with Poe and Rey in support roles. it is Finn who has the arc (about fighting the FO rather than running), while Rey has some good fights and powers, her role is too limited to be the single main character. She can maybe be the second lead, like Obi in AotC. While TLJ has gives Rey her own storyline, as others say it is mostly in service of Kylo and Luke.

 

Rey is obviously supposed to be the center of the series, but in each movie you can see who the director or writer got excited about.

JJ/Kasdan loved Finn. They really got into the motivations and mood of the character and write the hell out of him.

And Rian was fascinated by Kylo.

I kind of get this criticism of these Sequels, but without declaring that the movies Suck because of it. They are great with what they have done with those characters.

Does Nine become a tug of war between these two guys hooked on Rey? Which is sort of what Rey's character is supposed to be rejecting. Rejecting being the object of desire.

It's kind of tricky to make a "correct" story out of this.

 

I'm not sure about Finn. He's important-mainly in TFA. We see his arc (sort of) but I am not sure about being any focus. Dual focus with Rey in TFA? Maybe. But no way was he the primary with Rey being support.We're already heard JJ say more than once that Rey is the Luke of this story.

And, um, a big fat NO to Rey being the object of anyone's desire.Maybe a tug for her allegiance. I can't imagine anyone not seeing that IX has to be Rey's story. It will be Kylo's also, but at the end of the day, it is Rey who carries the torch so it's her journey we are to follow.

 

Finn was the only one who met all the characters and brought them all together, so I think it's fair to say Finn was the lead in TFA, with Rey being the sneaky hidden actual Jedi while they showed Finn as a Jedi in marketing, but since it's Star Wars, one would presume that Rey was the lead due to being the one with the force.

 

By that metric Luke isn't the main character in ANH.

 

How do you figure? Luke is the one who met everybody from the droids to Obi Wan to Han to Leia to even the rebel flight commanders, before a small showdown with Vader in the sky. The only one he didn't meet was Tarkin, and in Finn's case, he was the only 'hero' to meet Phasma.

 

The only character that Rey didn't meet was Poe, and Finn never met Luke.

If Rey isn't the main character, then neither is Luke.

 

Who meets who doesn't determine the hero. Still not sure why anyone would deny that Rey is the main hero and the main focus of the trilogy.

 

I think you're over-romanticising both halves of this sentence.. to the point where you're throwing around unrealistic expectations of what would happen if they tried to position/promote IX as 'reys movie' or her being a female lead.

Id wager.... simply... that not-enough people actually care enough about Rey, so 'her journey' positioning isnt going to get 1.5billion+ worth of bums in seats. Same deal for merely having a female protagonist in a year that has others. And yes - TLJ turning off audiences / making people apathetic towards SW played a factor in this.

Could your suggestions work to save the film from being a disaster and merely attain somewhere around a 'modest' amount of success? Sure. But could they be relied on to make the film a smashing success? I dont think so. I think its pretty clear Disney wants the film to be big, and thusly wouldnt want to push positioning options which wouldnt resonate with enough of the potential audience.

Selling the film as 'see how Reys journeys ends' just isnt going to work for enough people... whereas, for example, selling the film as 'witness the skywalker saga conclusion - and see the truth as to how Rey fits into their story' has a better chance.

 

Captain Edrison Peavey strikes back! That's a ticket sold to me right there.

 

The fear I have is that they may be bringing the saga to a close with a decided symbiosis with the light side and the dark personalized by Rey and Kylo Ren or their progeny (by either those trained in their footsteps or their children). Another dance under the sparks of a destroyed dark side superweapon set to inspirational music will be disappointing and unwelcome I think. That would only leave an agreed upon de tente with the dark flourishing alongside the light to be the resolution, which I also feel is unacceptable. Folks point towards the Yin and the Yang as this balance, erroneously equating the white half as good and the black half as evil. This is not how the taijitu is composed, however.

Besides, the moral of the SW Story is that the dark side is something that can't be allowed to flourish in any way. Evil is not a natural state that should be allowed to occupy the galaxy. Nor should it be presented as an acceptable opposite of kindness, compassion and peace. To end the saga in this manner is a statement: We cannot change ourselves. We cannot escape our base desire to rise ourselves up upon the backs of those we trample underfoot. We have to accept that we live amongst those who brutalize, enslave, exploit and eradicate others capriciously and that is totally normal, completely natural. Survival of the fittest.

This isn't the time or the place to even for a moment give credence to that line of thinking. None of the things we do to the environment or to each other is natural. We aren't likened unto a landslide that wipes away a village or a fire that kills off old vegetation so that new may rise. We are not like the pride of lions that distract the adults while the rear picks off the newborn calf separated from the herd. The things I mentioned are inherently human deeds and wrought for our own selfish desires. This is what the dark side is and is why it can't conceivably be shown to have a needful place in the galaxy.

So the resistance has to win. But I can't think of a scenario that achieves that in someway that is attention worthy or unique. When Lucas said there really wasn't anything else to the main story beyond episode 6 it made sense to me. We now have gone back into a repeat of the original fight with no way to finish it climactically. Either the good guys beat the odds and win or join together in some way. Neither makes for good SW.

 

Raddus. Back from the dead to save everyone’s a** again.

 

Um, I'm sorry, but how can you make these claims?
You say that it is what they show instead of what they say, and then turn around and completely ignore what they are actually showing.

Finn was a very important character in TFA, and he got the spotlight early on, but that doesn't make him the focus of the movie. It was Rey who was the focus, she also got by far the most screentime. In fact, the only times a character got more screentime than Rey had in TFA was Anakin in AOTC and ROTS. You'd have to add the entire role of Tarkin in ANH on top of Luke's to have this combined role match Rey's screentime. It's indeed Finn's role that is more akin to Obi Wan's role in AOTC.

The main plot of TFA is Rey leaving Jakku behind, discovering the force and move to find Luke at the end of the movie. Finn might enable a few connections, but that isn't what the focus is. Else the focus in ANH would be on the droids, who are what is connecting everyone.

TLJ wasn't so much about Luke (much less Ben) either. In fact, Ben's role was smaller than in TFA. He also had less screentime than Finn, though I guess one could say that his connection to the main story-arc - which is Rey and her development, Ben and Luke are just support in that - make his role more important than Finn's this time around.

Needless to say, both the story and the screentime breakdown make it very obvious that Rey is the key-figure of this trilogy and was always meant to be. In complete accordance with what all the people in charge have been saying all along.

 

@Oissan good points but while Rey is clearly the main character in the trilogy, I think they took several steps back in TLJ. The visit to Ach-To was highlighted by Rey and Kylo's telepathy and the truth behind Luke and Kylo. And Rey searching for her identity was deliberately directed toward those who wanted to know her idenity. It was as if, knowing Rey's story would dominate in IX, they decided to make her a little less of the focus in TLJ. It seemed very purposeful but still does nothing to dispute that she is THE character in this trilogy no holds barred.

I don't understand the claim from some folks that Rey is not the main character or, worse yet, is a support role. Where does that notion even come from?