RJ Trilogy The Rian Johnson Trilogy

No contracts are signed until there is a script to approve. There’s no script, no release date, nothing.

 

Doez Amazon have a script for his Middle Earth franchise? No.
Is it happening? Hell yes.

Same here.
The Last Jedi is about to make a billion worldwide before even opening in China.
How is this film failing?

If you look at other films distributed/produced by Disney, Star Wars is killing it.
Pirates of the Caribbean continues when only two (of five) have hit the billion mark.
Animation films barely hit the mark (Dory, Frozen) and they don't cut Pixar's budget.

So nah, they're not taking this away.
If anything, I see Rian as the go-to guy for Star Wars now, just like David Yates is with the Wizarding World.

 

It-ll get cancelled

 

It won't get canceled. It's not making TFA money but really what would. Disney is more than pleased with what Rian did.

 

Why are you pointing out China as some SW BO juggernaut to come? SW is relatively weak there.

 

The Force Awakens took in 124 million there. It might be the relatively weak in China, but that's hardly nothing. And since the movie has easily earned alot more than its production budget, that's all profit as far as the studio is concerned. That might be why someone points it out. Just maybe.

 

SW makes much less than even the Fast and the Furious franchise. Citing China as some big difference maker as in "It's not even opened in China yet"…well big deal.

 

You'r right, it's unlikely that TLJ will do big numbers in China, however, the movie is still performing extremely well and is on track to become the 5th, potentially 4th biggest box office success of all time. If you're judging the success of TLJ on box office takings, there's no debate...it's a massive hit. In terms of its legacy with fans....time will tell.

 

I'm not.

 

Why are we pretending as if making it public and signing contracts means they won't cancel it? KK has fired three writers and directors already, and replaced one on reshoots. Rian is just as liable to be fired as Colin Trevorrow, Lord and Miller, Josh Trank, and even to an extent Gareth Edwards. If they have suitable belief that Rian making a trilogy would either lead to low profits or damage to the brand, it won't happen. It just depends on the reactions over the next few years.

 

Right, I mean, what's 124 million? or even the 69 million Rogue One did? I'm sure Lucasfilm doesn't even care about that money, right? I mean, who needs 100ish million dollars? Right?

Instead of asking why people think Chinese box office might make some difference, why not worry about the much more substantive part of the argument in the quotes above as to other movies with similar production budgets that yield much smaller profits and yet have their series continue. That's where the real meat of this debate is, and why Lucasfilm/Disney is not going to be swayed by *some* fan backlash. They're making a killing, critics loved it, and they're probably smart enough to know that a significant portion of the fanbase was going to be angry however Last Jedi went. You can't please everyone.

 

That happens with *publicly traded companies all the time*.

 

Cause they will probably make more there than the 70 million in Germany or the 30 in Japan.
And money is money.

Difference is that Rian already has a (critically acclaimed and profiting) film with them and they trust him?

By any measure, this film is doing well and Disney/Lucasfilm have no reason to cancel the new trilogy except for the "I have a bad feeling about this" excuse.

 

Lucasfilm will continue making SW movies obviously, Rian Johnson won’t be a part of them. I could be wrong but I don’t see the money obsessed Bob Iger bringing him back after a 69% drop. Rian has also become a toxic figure in the fan base.

 

How do people not understand that TLJ is a highly profitable and successful movie which was praised by the powers the be? As others have said “I have a bad feeling about this” is not an excuse.

JJ was heavily criticized by some for his ANH “R.I.P. off”. They brought him back to close the trilogy. Bottom line is good working relationship + box office smash hit = bring the director back for more.

I’m also positive that contracts legally have to be signed before they can announce these things. Sure they can change. They won’t though.

 

Go ask Josh Trank, Gareth Edwards, Phil Lord and Chris Miller what their contracts meant. Not a damn thing.

 

You forgot Colin Trevorrow. The list is long an we are literally as many films into the new regime as have been fired.

 

Yes, Disney loves directors who alienate large portions of the fanbase. Rian will direct every SW film until the end of time!

Basically here's how some people (fewer and fewer) think on the boards: I told everyone I was behind Rian before TLJ because Kennedy gave him a trilogy, so I have to love everything he does like a politician who can never admit they're wrong, and this all means that there's no way on earth that Kennedy or Disney will change their minds.

 

If anything, Kennedy and Disney have shown no aversion to firing filmmakers. So the idea that because they announced x director of a SW film means they are staying with x director flies against the actual evidence.

All of that being said, I am not against Rian directing a non-saga SW film. He's already stressed he wants to do something original and new.

Great! Just never should have directed a Saga film but that horse has left the barn.

 

Let’s go through that list -

Trank was fired for his rumored unprofessionalism and fantastic 4 which flopped in the BO and was critically slammed.

Edwards worked up to the end of Rogue One as evident by him being present during the reshoot scenes and even participating in them. His movie was released.

Phil and Chris were fired because of a bad working relationship with Lucasfilm and not sticking to script.

Collin was fired due to disagreements on his script not being up to scratch as well as Book of Henry being a commercial and critical flop.

Now onto Johnson - TLJ possibly the biggest film of 2017 and one of the bIggest of all time. Lucasfilm and Disney have praised the end product and working relationship. Have public announced extending that relationship.

I don’t know about you but I think I can see a clear difference.

 

They also publicly announced every single one of those filmmakers on the list. You are in the weeds on this. The fact is they have fired *more* filmmakers than there are new films so far. So the idea that they wouldn't fire a filmmaker just because they've already announced them is laughable. BO doesn't have to do with it either. Gareth lining up for another one? They haven't hesitated to replace filmmakers for a variety of reasons as your list proves.

 

Another thing to think about is the fact that he’ll probably be more micro-managed on these new movies because of this backlash, he may not respond well to that. Also he may not want to return to a franchise in which the fans have been sending him and his girlfriend constant death threats to the point that his girlfriend has fled twitter. I’ll believe he’s returning when he starts casting actors, until then let’s enjoy Solo and episode 9 because things rapidly change with Lucasfilm. Remember the Boba Fett film?

 

Well until we hear that hear about disagreements, micromanaging or fear of returning I don’t think there is anything to worry about. We can hypothesize about what if’s until the cows come home Point is at this stage he’s writing and directing the first one. Given that this is the RJ trilogy thread that’s the focus not 9 or SOLO.

 

None of the directors mentioned were fired at the time their other movie projects bombed. They were fired for terrible working relationship with Lucasfilm. We heard rumors of how terrible these relationships were around these boards before the general media reported it. This is the reason they gave the new trilogy to Rian Johnson, because he works well with Lucasfilm, and they've had massive problems with other directors being unable to take direction and work within the bounds they set.

I tire of this argument, especially on a thread meant to speculate on what direction Johnson will take; not whether or not he'll still be making it. I'm done with this aspect of that topic.

 

Yes from all accounts Johnson, Lucasfilm and Disney have a fantastic working relationship. His production was smooth sailing and practically finished early. They want to maintain that relationship.