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

Hmm a few cameos in Rogue One were very "in your face" too IMO. Didnt bother me but i think RJ will be more subtle. This will be our third neo star wars movie. I hope we're past bumping randomely into cameos from ot/pt characters! i wouldnt mind seeing some twi'leks or rodians of course, just not the ones we know.

 

In your face callbacks have been in Star Wars since the beginning (novels, comics and sequel films), and the prequels practically thrived on them. TFA and RO were really nothing new in that regard. I'd even argue that that's the whole point of why people make sequels in the first place.

Also, there is absolutely nothing subtle about the callbacks in Rogue One versus TFA. Don't let your dislike of TFA change reality; RO goes way beyond anything that TFA does.

 

and i have no problem with it.

casual fans are like, "hey that's awesome!" and then the "true" fans that go on forums are like, "forced! i rolled my eyes! took me out of the film! pandering!" etc.

 

I agree. Some of them were so un-subtle they were tantamount to 'nudge, nudge, wink, wink, look who it is!'

 

but it depends on your degree of fandom. new, casual, regular fans will appreciate it. hardcore fans seem to scorn it but the films are for everybody not just the hardcores.

 

I'm sure lots do appreciate it, but some of them were so poorly done and in your face that they made me cringe a little. Particularly awful was the random appearance of the ANH Tatooine bar patrons (I forgot their names). The token R2 and C3PO scene was pretty poor too, in that they were never seen again and did not serve the plot at all.

 

I think (unless they are very organic - like Jabba or Maz in the Solo story, or Lando in the ST) I think we may be done with forced nods. FTR, bar Ponda Baba and DR E, I thought the nods in R1 were pretty damn justified, and TFA mostly handled them well but might have dialled back a couple of less subtle moments.

 

He seems like a nice guy and he defended the PT + he's not JJ, so it's gonna be original story.
I say bring it on!

 

lol. whatever.

 

Yeah let's hope Rian actually tries something different and risky with VIII cause i have no hope for IX since Jurassic World is almost as much a nostalgia panderfest as TFA is.

 

But you can't please everyone, especially when it comes to SW. Many people do want the films to be panderfests, because for them SW equals OT characters, OT-like locations, Death Stars, and the Falcon. I'm not in that category, but I understand them.

That said, we will apparently have a space dog chase through a casino city, monsters in tuxedos and puffins who own Ahch-To, or something. So I think Rian will be original enough.

 

Rogue One had the OT feel and aspect mixed with a bit of politics and world-building of the PT (done right this time IMO). So if RJ could follow this approach (and looking at the dubrovnik set, architecture and landspeeders, along with the casino rumours & Laura Dern's role, he doesnt seem to be afraid to show wealthy industrialized planets and senators/aristocrats) and add a generous touch of his own creativity/idiosincrancy as well we're in for a treat!

If ep 8 & 9 is really the fresh take on SW we've been promised, and RJ is certainly capable of that, i think tht retroactively it wont matter if ep7 was less bold and deep. If the lore/background, story etc reveals themselves to be great and original then TFA will be seen for what it is IMO: the very fun ride introducing all the players before the meatier stuff arrives. I trust RJ with that. And MSW last report that he seemed to be creating the lore and details of the whole story while JJ was shooting his film, make s me confident about what's to come. I think a lot of "disappointed" fans are gonna be surprised i might be wrong but we'll find out soon hehe..

 

The situation is not great.

At first I thought we'll get new Star Wars, continuation of the saga for new generation of fans. Then it came the first TFA teaser and all that I saw were those TIEs.

Rogue One proved to me that there are some people in LF that actually care for Star Wars and that know that SW is not about practical effects, real locations, cantina scenes and so, but about the story. People who managed to tell more from a story set just before ANH than those who wrote story set 30 years after ROTJ. Could Rian be one of those, one of those filmmakers who will look beyond the OT, I don't know yet. The first clue will be the first teaser. And although he can tell us something fresh and new, he's limited by OT's visuals as TFA set them for the time being.

 

The old EU of the 90s with Thrawn was not different: it was tie fighter vs x wings etc...i had no problem with that. Of course it cant go on forever like this, if theres ever another trilogy it has to go awau from stortroopers and the falcon...but i dont mind for the ST as long as it's the last time and the story told is a good story...and i have faith in RJ.

 

After reading this thread, I hope Rian Johnson makes it a point to highlight his use of practical effects.

 

His movie already looks more real than JJ's.

vs

 

I see two different angles and lighting set ups. Both look fine.

Rian's shot probably hasn't been put through ILM to get the background right either. Comparing a shot from the day principal photography started and a shot from a finished film is going to give you two different things, no doubt.

 

Exactly! you cant win here, i remember watching the phantom menace and it was all mostly new and thinking what the hell, this isnt star wars! in a sense george was too confident in thinking anything he created fans would love where in truth it was the characters,ships,music and effects from the original trilogy that people really wanted.

Tfa was nowhere near the pander fest some people on here make out it to be, it introduced great new characters in the world that started it all, some elements where necessary, hopefully rian does a good job although im not particularly confident his star wars is my star wars...

 

Sure, I just think the TFA shot looks and feels fake. A lot of TFA did, oddly.

 

I was happy that Rian was a director, until his sarcastic "devil advocate" tweet. If he isn't joking about "PT = kids movies about how fear of loss turns good people into fascists" and thats how he grasps the PT, then SW universe future in a great danger. Thats some "i dont like sand totally ruined the PT" fan's level of comprehension.

 

He's defended the prequel more then once, even went on to say they Prequels actually did use practical sets despite people thinking it wall CGI

vncredleader You read that tweet a few times what did you make of it?


Also on a another note. People you do remember that the Original Trilogy was directed by other people right A New Hope being the exception. Empire Strikes Back considered the pen-ultimate Star Wars film was directed by Irvin Kirshner (Sure with George as Executive Producer though how much of the behind the Camera work he did i'm not sure) so, should we consider him the gold standard for Star Wars "Directing" in terms of being a "Director" I'm NOT Lucas bashing but I wish people would remember that other people have "technically" directed Star Wars before Ep 7

 

Wow, the schaudenfraude here is impressive mate.

Above and beyond all else, the prequels can indeed be looked upon that way. In fact, viewing them as anything else feels like you didn't watch the same movies. The execution was off in the prequels (sorted out in the Clone Wars show), but the base tenets is espoused are very much the idea of fear and loss turning good people into fascists. There is nothing wrong with that interpretation, and in fact it's a rathe nuanced way to look at the prequels. Get rid of all the flash and craziness and poor dialogue...and you have exactly that. This is why the Clone Wars was able to neatly retrofit into the prequel era and tell amazing stories...because at its core, the conflicts presented in the prequels were very much adult in nature.

In fact, his comments made me respect him a great deal more than I had previously.

 

ESB is rather noteworthy in that GL spent most of the film's principal photography on the other side of the Atlantic. He wasn't happy about what Irvin had done, and tried as best as he could to 'save' his movie in the editing room. He didn't win. (GL once said that ESB was his least favourite of the films.)

And despite directing the best of the Star Wars movies, Irvin Kirshner really didn't direct any other films on the same level. Similarly, Rian could essentially peak with Episode 8. I thought Looper was really enjoyable, but obviously SW is a whole different ball game.

One more thing, the filmmaking approach with all these SW films is much more collaborative than the PT era. There are artists, editors, writers and producers all pitching in ideas and working together to create the best films they can. Gone are the days of a single autocrat.

 

Excellent point. I've always found the best films are when everyone got at the right place at the right time. Best examples are ESB and the original 1954 Gojira.

Though i've never heard the story of George saying Empire was his least favorite film. That's some fascinating stuff if that's true.