ST JJ Abrams directing Episode IX Discussion

sorry but where is this clear statement about the backlash being about politics?

This interview being all click-baity about the men hate women thing is all i see which, of course, ignores actual issues with the writing.

 

I think there is more to it then fans not liking that female characters are taking more of a lead this time.

 

Reading JJ's comments, it sounds like he's committed to making a film that doesn't bend over backwards to please people dissatisfied with TLJ. Of course, there are ways to address some of the complaints about that movie without doing so (mainly technical stuff like humor and pacing, but also stuff like Rey getting closure on her parents that feels like a natural extension of the story), but as we saw with Justice League, it's ultimately better to be committed to the story that you want to tell than do a complete 180 in response to the audience's reaction. I also think that some people just connect more with JJ's voice as a directer than they do with Rian Johnson's (which is perfectly fine), so that will probably have an impact on how IX is received at least in certain circles.

 

If I'm not mistaken, he pitched the story in December. The actual script is still being written.

 

From the article above: "I will say that the story of Rey and Poe and Finn and Kylo Ren . . . their story continues in a way that I couldn’t be more excited about and cannot wait for people to see.” My reaction to this is that those wanting Luke to have a substantial role in Episode IX will likely be disappointed.

 

^^Of course they'll be disappointed. It was never a realistic expectation. Luke's story was wrapped up because his story was over, at least according to RJ and Lucasfilm, and there won't be anything more of significance for him to do.

On the contrary, whatever role Luke may have in IX, I'm sure JJ won't say a word about it. It will come as a surprise.

 

Heh, now that you mentioned Justice League. It all started with Superman Returns. It was a very expensive movie that didn't turn profitable for various reasons. However, the loudest Internet complaint was that Supes didn't punch anyone. He saved people but didn't punch them. So huge online discontent was built around that and when WB rebooted/remade/whatever the character, they promised Superman's punching. And punched he did. For about 45 minutes which caused bigger collateral damage that Zod ever planned. Now, it isn't unheard of that our superheroes and heroes inflict much more damage than villain ever could. But Super Punchaton irked fans (even the ones that demanded it) and it became a butt of jokes. So much so that WB bent over backwards again and tried to play "it's all part of our design" card, that nobody bought but, hey, maybe their ploy to act like Super Punchaton was the reason for Batman's beef with Superman could salvage Man of Steel and Batman vs Superman? Maybe? Nope, it made things worse. And then came Justice League. So point is, pandering to fans didn't satisfy even fans who demanded pandering let alone anyone else.

 

It’s strange that he would say this because of what happened to him on Star Trek. Star Trek Beyond features a ton of fan service and nostalgia and acts as a sort of apology for Into Darkness which was despised by the fans.

 

Which is fine. I suspect there is enough agreement on the story to proceed with production planning.

 

I think that is reading way too much into it. He's merely listing the new leading characters, whose future is still very much up in the air. It doesn't really indicate how much of a role Luke will have.

 

Well, but it is not hard to predict Luke will have a much smaller role in IX than in TLJ. Simply because the torch is fully passed on by now. Poe is leading the Resistance, Finn is a grown up soldier, and Rey is the last Jedi. Luke might have some nice scenes here and there, but I am certanly not expecting him having a large role like the Han in TFA or Luke in TLJ.

 

Maybe Luke won't even be in Episode IX?

 

I predict Luke will have about the screentime as Captain Phasma in TLJ.

 

I would say he will have something more than that. Probably a scene in the vein of that of Ben in ROTJ, plus a couple of other appeareances with Kylo.

Perfectly enough, IMO.

 

Wasn't the force awakens full of nostalgia and fan service? What was wrong with into darkness? Aside from the fact he lied about khan?

 

But how do you know where to draw the line? One can argue (IMO legitimately) that Rey and Holdo were poorly written in TLJ and be labeled as sexist...

 

You don’t need to draw a line because it’s common sense. JJ was referring to one particular group who DID have issues with women in power. Is it really that confusing?

 

Old news but might not be known by all.

https://www.comicbookmovie.com/sci-...ll-bring-together-all-three-trilogies-a154646

 

The fans that hated The Last Jedi are mostly the same ones who really liked the female lead in The Force Awakens.

Maybe Abrams shouldn't blame the fans for their screw-ups.

 

What does that even mean though? I loved Rey in TFA and TLJ. JJ isn’t blaming fans either. Are people just making up narratives now?

 

I don't t know what the process was for hiring Rian Johnson but I have to think that he was not someone Abrams would've picked himself to direct in his stead. Abrams would've tried to have one of his Bad Robot colleagues like Matt Reeves or Drew Goddard. I know JJ is trying to toe the party line but he knows he has a big task ahead of him especially if Solo under performs at the box office.

 

How would you know that?
Seems like plenty of assumptions to me. Maybe he would have picked someone different, maybe he would have written something different as well, but the fact remains, he was absolutely thrilled with the script for TLJ, so any remarks about what he "would have done" are completely moot. He knows where the story stands at, and he's happy with it, and that is the only things that matter.

It's weird how people completely ignore the opinion of others, to the point that a lot are projecting their own thoughts onto them. If someone hasn't given a public statement, to those who hold a negative opinion of the most recent movie, said person must agree with them. And if for some reason there is a positive statement, it's purely because said person is "toeing the line", regardless of how much the facts speak against that. Abrams couldn't possibly win, because regardless of what he says, certain people will stick to what they want him to believe instead of what he actually believes.

 

It seems like a lot of people are either so accustomed adaptations where they know the ending, or so accustomed to watching Star Wars consecutively, or the prequels where they knew where it would end, that they have forgotten that by this point in time in the story (middle) the audience is supposed to be questioning all of the common things many are. We aren’t supposed to be happy with where the heroes are at. Rey going to Ben, and realizing the bridge wasn’t something special between her and Ben created by them, but rather something created by Snoke to manipulate both and that both fell for Snoke’s trap is supposed to make us wonder why she was so foolish. We are supposed to question her judgment as she is being tortured by Snoke and presented for execution as Ben Solo’s final training. This is clearly her low point in decision-making alongside the fact that she has abandoned her initial mission and left Skywalker without any way to return to help even if he does have a change of heart (He does). We are supposed to realize that while she is powerful on the outside she still is naive and needed saving from someone else to get through film 2 just as Luke did. Her wounds are psychologically largely heading into IX.

Ben Solo is supposed to feel like he’s gaining the upper hand and getting more by this point in the saga but he still only enjoys like 15 minutes of screen time in this film. When the more crowd-pleasing IX delivers more of the wish fulfillment people want it will feel more enjoyable because of Johnson’s work on VIII. When Luke returns again as a Force ghost to help Rey at a new moment of weakness it will feel warmer and closer to what people wanted them to be like initially.

Abrams has no reason to be upset because Johnson took on the less crowdpleasing setback and failure exploration to setup the more triumphant comeback story up ahead. When most people are young it’s the crowdpleasing ROTJ they connect with most and simply come to appreciate TESB as they age and respect how its darkness and setbacks and emotional complications are what helps make ROTJ the crowd pleaser that it is.

 

Visit Reddit some time. You'll see plenty of he-man women haters who don;t like Rey, in particular.

And "writing issues?" That's a matter of opinion of course. I think this was one of the best written Star Wars movies, by quite a lot.

 

Yeah, I don;t think Luke will be a huge character. But I think he could play more of a role than a kindly blue ghost giving wise advice. I'm not HUGELY hopeful that they'll do something more interesting here, but they could. Ghost Luke holding off Darksider ghosts could be interesting. Or my favorite... Luke constantly with Ben, undermining his attachment to the Dark Side. None of that would require a lot of screen time.