main
side
curve
  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

ST J.J. Abrams (Director Of TFA & TROS) Discussion Thread—Now Finally Discussing: JJ Abrams

Discussion in 'Sequel Trilogy' started by Pro Scoundrel , Jan 3, 2020.

  1. Def Trooper

    Def Trooper Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 6, 2019
    Three. Discovery, Picard (which was a limited series that has ended if I'm not mistaken), and Lower Decks, an animated comedy series.
     
    christophero30 likes this.
  2. FightoftheForgotten

    FightoftheForgotten Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 19, 2020
    I don't have the quote, but I think JJ said he was impressed by now much knowledge Terrio had about the EU, specifically DARK EMPIRE. I don't think that knowledge played into Terrio being hired though because JJ made it seem like he didn't realize Terrio knew those things until after they started working together.
     
    Jedi_Fenrir767 likes this.
  3. Fredrik Vallestrand

    Fredrik Vallestrand Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Jan 15, 2018
    Terrio knows alot about both EU and canon. Even if you didn't like the movie he's involved its a good thing to involve people with knowledge of Eu and canon, just look at the mandalorian with filoni. I hope we get more guys and girls like him.
     
  4. Jedi_Fenrir767

    Jedi_Fenrir767 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2013
    Discovery, Picard which is supposed to come back for seasons 2 and 3 if they ever can because of Covid, Section 31 (In Development probably cancelled), Lower Decks Animated just ended it's first season. Strange New Worlds supposedly going back to the classic roots of trek coming soon.
     
    RetropME, Darth PJ and christophero30 like this.
  5. Darth PJ

    Darth PJ Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2013
    I thought they were looking at a 2nd season of Picard? I’d be dissapointed if not...
     
  6. Jedi_Fenrir767

    Jedi_Fenrir767 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2013
    They are the question is with Stewart’s Age and Covid if they will be able to now. There are also the streaming rights questions as Picard was far leas profitable than Discovery season 1 was. It also has a lot of people that don’t like it. It was the worst season of television writing wise i have ever watched so inconsistent some great moments ruined by nonsense dissapearong plots and the last two episodes make TLJ look like Shakespeare. Just play Mass Effect it’s a better version of Picard season 1
     
    PendragonM and Darth PJ like this.
  7. Bor Mullet

    Bor Mullet Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Apr 6, 2018
    Abrams has a very superficially mainstream approach to films. Almost as if he's petrified of seeming too geeky. I credit him with creating the tone and substance of the ST, including TLJ, despite not directing it. And that's not a compliment. Thankfully, Lucasfilm is moving on from the JJ-verse, and going in a completely different direction.
     
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2020
  8. Darth PJ

    Darth PJ Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2013
    Quoted for truth...
     
  9. jedijax

    jedijax Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    May 2, 2013
    A year later, I have a greater appreciation for The Rise of Skywalker. Not the way I foresaw things having happened after TFA, but now that it's been some time since all the debate, I appreciate it for what it is.
     
    Fredrik Vallestrand likes this.
  10. Darth Droid

    Darth Droid Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Jul 4, 2013
    What I find most fascinating about TROS is that while I don't think Abrams is much for coming up with new ideas himself, in terms of the rehash there are few better at it. What I had never seen before TROS from Abrams was filmmaking incompetency in terms of the actual scenes themselves and how fast they moved on an editing/writing level. Genuinely I don't know if it was in the edit or reshoots or what, but TROS doesn't feel anything like a JJ Abrams movie in terms of how messy it is. The man makes simple clean adventure movies (usually with a plot from an older movie that is being referenced). Rise of Skywalker was like watching Star Wars while on speed.

    I'd love to know all the behind the scenes drama of this trilogy.
     
  11. alwayslurking

    alwayslurking Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 21, 2019
    Agreed 100%. I mean, TFA got an Oscar nomination for editing for goodness sake.
     
    RetropME, Darth Droid and reyvision like this.
  12. reyvision

    reyvision Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 12, 2017
    They rushed the film and didn't give anyone involved enough time to make it. I think losing Carrie, changing directors and trying to deal with TLJ backlash really hurt the third film and they needed FAR more time than they gave JJ. Disney wanted the film out in 2019 and the production was rushed as a result.
     
  13. alwayslurking

    alwayslurking Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 21, 2019
    Of course, it's now really bizarre to think about a 2020 release date, which means it would have then been delayed until sometime in 2021 and we'd still be debating spoilers here!
     
    Last edited: Nov 28, 2020
    RetropME and reyvision like this.
  14. Fredrik Vallestrand

    Fredrik Vallestrand Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Jan 15, 2018
    I think if waited for 2021 it might have helped this movie and trilogy, maybe included scenes that were rumored to have been filmed.
     
  15. FightoftheForgotten

    FightoftheForgotten Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 19, 2020
    I think it was originally going to be three hours (because ENDGAME had just came out) and the studio heads were like, "No, we need to get as many showings of this movie into a day as possible before word of mouth gets around. Chop it down to two hours."
     
  16. Bor Mullet

    Bor Mullet Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Apr 6, 2018
    I also appreciate turds for what they are.
     
    2Cleva, Jedi_Fenrir767 and PendragonM like this.
  17. Miles Lodson

    Miles Lodson Chosen One star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 10, 1998
    I said the same thing to my daughter on my drive home after we saw the film. It didn't seem like a JJ movie or a Star Wars movie in its style or composition.
     
  18. ezekiel22x

    ezekiel22x Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 9, 2002
    I need to watch it again. Saw it once but I actually enjoyed it unlike the first two ST installments. Felt like SW that actually wanted to be a fun fantastic spectacle again.
     
    Iron_lord likes this.
  19. Darth PJ

    Darth PJ Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2013
    TROS could have had another 2 years, and it would still have been subpar (IMO), largely due to the complete lack of original or engaging story that had already been laid out.
     
  20. godisawesome

    godisawesome Skywalker Saga Undersheriff star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Dec 14, 2010
    I think they could have salvaged something good... but it would require rejecting TLJ so hard it’s professional defenders would probably feel obligated to criticize the move to save face.

    As long as Kylo was firmly planted as both the only new Skywalker, the storyline as a Sequel to the OT was screwed, and as long as it was also insisted he be the male lead, the ST’s story itself was screwed (particularly if Palpatine’s return really was just the culmination of LFL insisting he get a hero moment as well.)

    But denying not those elements and embracing the potential away from those decisions would be a denunciation of TLJ.

    ...Though I’d add that Abrams rarely being around to finish anything he started likely would have harmed any story he was trying to make without some competent partner in storytelling. Part of TROS’s problem is that it’s clear that Abrams can’t freestyle that well - the scavenger hunt and political military plotline all feel like briefly thought out connective tissue for the external conflict while Abrams tried desperately to do something substantial with the character arcs after TLJ eviscerated them.
     
    Def Trooper, 2Cleva, Darth PJ and 2 others like this.
  21. BalanceOfTheForce

    BalanceOfTheForce Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 18, 2016
    I honestly think the only time J.J actually watched the prequels was when they released.
     
  22. Darth PJ

    Darth PJ Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2013
    Uninspiring and inconsequential story, unoriginal concepts and characters. You know my feelings on the ST (and specifically TFA), and TLJ certainly didn’t improve the issues, it doubled down on them (IMHO), so the 3rd sequel was always screwed. Sure, it could have been a ‘better’ film, but it was never going to be a satifactory conclusion, because there was nothing (narratively/thematically) to conclude that hadn’t been concluded in the OT/PT.

    For example, for all the PT’s detractors, there was always a sense that the films were building to something... we all knew where the story was heading i.e. the downfall of the Republic, the Jedi order and Anakin’s fall to the darkside. Even if one was unfamiliar with the OT, watching the PT, there was always a sense that the PT knew where it was heading. It knew what the ‘destination’ was. The ST (IMO) never knows where it’s going from one film to the next, which is why there’s a perceivable lack of momentum... It’s just a series of self contained set pieces that rarely connect to each other, let alone the previous trilogies in a meaningful way. So sure, TROS could have been better... and I certainly think Duel of the Fates would have been a considerably better 3rd film, but it was always going to struggle after TFA/TLJ...
     
  23. christophero30

    christophero30 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    May 18, 2017
    I would have liked to see Mustafar explored a bit at the start of TROS. It was a cool scene but just felt so rushed like a trailer.
     
    Darth Raiden and Darth PJ like this.
  24. PendragonM

    PendragonM Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 7, 2018
    TROS was hilarious....and it wasn't meant to be. The McGuffins piled up and up, the fakeout story lines, JJ's pals introduced for no good reason - it was all of JJ's biggest problems as a "filmmaker" (quotes intentional) in one package. It's way too much story for one movie.

    That said, Billy Dee walks off with anything that isn't nailed down and that scene between Finn and Jannah on the Falcon is so good - THAT is what the ST should have been, human moments like that. The pointless bickering between the ST trio is a prime example of what is wrong. Well, that and the Emperor and everything with Luke, Han and Leia, which has been a throughline of problematic starting in TFA. Plus Chewie getting that medal for no damn good reason - if it's Han's then SAY SO, that would make the scene work as something other than an in joke.

    Anything to do with Rey and Kylo was a complete disaster, that's a given. And that ending was the most tone deaf thing possible.
     
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2020
  25. ewoksimon

    ewoksimon Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 26, 2009
    Def Trooper likes this.