The Rise of Skywalker JJ Abrams is Writing and Directing Episode IX

[TheVileOne]

If you're talking about the first part I haven't seen that. Although as my post says, it doesn't really matter to me as I derive no importance from statements of how they worked to arrive at what they did. I've seen the films, that's all I need to judge them.

Here's what he said to Wired:

“The script for VIII is written. I’m sure rewrites are going to be endless, like they always are. But what Larry and I did was set up certain key relationships, certain key questions, conflicts. And we knew where certain things were going. We had meetings with Rian and Ram Bergman, the producer of VIII. They were watching dailies when we were shooting our movie. We wanted them to be part of the process, to make the transition to their film as seamless as possible.”
“Rian has asked for a couple of things here and there that he needs for his story. He is an incredibly accomplished filmmaker and an incredibly strong writer. So the story he told took what we were doing and went in the direction that he felt was best but that

is very much in line with what we were thinking as well. But you’re right—that will be his movie; he’s going to do it in the way he sees fit. He’s neither asking for nor does he need me to oversee the process.”

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Entertainment Weekly - J.J. Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy discuss Carrie Fisher's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker role

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

IMDb: What do you like best about how things ended up for Rey?
Daisy Ridley: Well I felt like...at the end [of Star Wars: The Last Jedi] I was like, 'Ah this is strange' because it sort of feels like a finish but then we have another film to do and then J. J. [Abrams] figured out a way to take the story in such a different direction. Somebody said to me that they saw the [new] film and they said I was like the teenager in Episode VII and in Rise of Skywalker it's like Daisy 2.0 or something and I was like, 'That's nice.' To just feel [that] I progressed. That's a big one.





J. J. Abrams: “The story that we’re telling [with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker], the story that we started to conceive when we did The Force Awakens was allowed to continue. Episode VIII didn’t really derail anything that we were thinking about. But I will say that the fun of this movie is that these characters are all together on this adventure as a group and that’s the thing that I was most excited about to see – the dynamic between these characters that these amazing actors play on this desperate, seat-of-your-pants, adventure. That to me was the thing that was kind of the most fun: having the group together.” (archive)



Daisy Ridley: "Well J. J. told me what was gonna happen [in Episode IX before filming began] and then he changed his mind. So I knew what was gonna happen for like a week and then he was like, 'Oh that's changed.' I was like, 'Okay...' So then he told me something else and then the script, you know, it was like shifting and developing as we were doing it, but for the most part he told me what was gonna happen and then things were added and I was like (shocked face), 'Since when is this happening?' and he's like, 'Oh yeah we had a really cool idea...' [It's] so cool." (archive)

 

[Mjolnir Reborn]

J. J. Abrams: “The story that we’re telling [with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker], the story that we started to conceive when we did The Force Awakens was allowed to continue. Episode VIII didn’t really derail anything that we were thinking about.

This part made me think of a recent discussion here about how much JJ and Rian worked together on the story. If they made a story together I don't think JJ would have phrased himself like he did here, as if they are working together no one is derailing the other. The way JJ talks it sounds like Rian largely did his own thing with what was set up and JJ now says that it didn't really end up derailing his plans, where the word "really" indicating that it wasn't entirely seamless.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

J. J. Abrams: “To have no script [for Star Wars: Episode IX] and to have a release date and have it be essentially a two-year window when you’re saying (to yourself), you’ve got two years from the decision to do it to release, and you have literally nothing . . . . You don’t have the story, you don’t have the cast, you don’t have the designers, the sets. There was a crew, and there were things that will be worked on for the version that preceded ours, but this was starting over. And because this was such a mega job, I knew at the very least I needed a cowriter to work on this thing, but I didn’t know [then] who that cowriter would be. There was nothing.” (April 9, 2019)

J. J. Abrams: "But it was a completely unknown scenario. I had some gut instincts about where the story would have gone. But without getting in the weeds on episode eight, that was a story that Rian wrote and was telling based on seven before we met. So he was taking the thing in another direction. So we also had to respond to Episode VIII. So our movie was not just following what we had started, it was following what we had started and then had been advanced by someone else. So there was that, and, finally, it was resolving nine movies. While there are some threads of larger ideas and some big picture things that had been conceived decades ago and a lot of ideas that Lawrence Kasdan and I had when we were doing Episode VII, the lack of absolute inevitability, the lack of a complete structure for this thing, given the way it was being run was an enormous challenge. However, to answer your question—truly, finally—now that I’m back, the difference is I feel like we might’ve done it. Like, I actually feel like this crazy challenge that could have been a wildly uncomfortable contortion of ideas, and a kind of shoving-in of answers and Band-Aids and bridges and things that would have felt messy. Strangely, we were sort of relentless and almost unbearably disciplined about the story and forcing ourselves to question and answer some fundamental things that at the beginning, I absolutely had no clue how we would begin to address. I feel like we’ve gotten to a place—without jinxing anything or sounding more confident than I deserve to be—I feel like we’re in a place where we might have something incredibly special. So I feel relief being home, and I feel gratitude that I got to do it. And more than anything, I’m excited about what I think we might have.” (April 9, 2019)

Rian Johnson: “When I came into [Star Wars] there wasn’t a secret white board with the whole story laid out. It was really just, I read JJ [Abrams] and Michael [Arndt] and Larry [Kasdan]’s script for [Star Wars: Episode] VII and it was ‘what happens next?'” “No [they hasn’t sketched out the next two movies at all]. No, no, no. This was more like a baton handoff. And first of all that seemed crazy to me, coming into it I was like, ‘Wow really?’ And then as I got into it and started working it was like, ‘Oh thank God,’ because as opposed to just tagging bases, it meant that I could honestly react to what I felt from The Force Awakens and those characters, and find the path forward that felt honest to me and felt real, and that led to some surprising places we might not have gotten to if the whole thing was drawn out.” “[Abrams and Kasdan] had nothing they dictated to me, no. They were really gracious in kind of leaving it open.” “Yeah [their input ended with the end of their movie]. And for example, the question of Rey’s parentage, which was a big question in this. I never got like the, you know, remember in Clue you had the packet of things, ‘so and so in the library’? I never got the equivalent of that for all the answers in this movie [Star Wars: The Last Jedi].” (December 17, 2017)

Lawrence Kasdan: “These movies will all be so different. [‘Episode VIII‘ director] Rian Johnson is a friend of mine — he’s going to make some weird thing. If you’ve seen Rian’s work, you know it’s not going be like anything that’s ever been in ‘Star Wars.’ You couldn’t have three more different people than J.J., Rian and [‘Episode IX‘ director] Colin [Trevorrow]. Those movies will have the ‘Star Wars’ saga as their basis, but everything else will be different. Then Phil Lord and Chris Miller are going to make the Han Solo film and I can’t guess what that will be like — and I’m writing it!” (December 3, 2015)

Lawrence Kasdan: “Well you want [the movie] to be open-ended. We definitely wanted it to be open-ended but we didn’t want to dictate where it was going. These movies – and people underestimate this but all six of these movies that preceded this – now the seventh – are determined by the directors who do them, so A New Hope has George’s buoyancy, his feeling that there would never be another Star Wars, he has his rebellion against Hollywood and his love for those things, the pulp and the Flash Gordon and the Kurosawa – everything that had influenced him up to then. And then when he miraculously was enabled with his own money to make The Empire Strikes Back he made the most important decision ever in all the saga I think when said my teacher from the USC Irvin Kershner who had never done anything like A New Hope but had made New York art films […] these were art films from the east coast and George brilliantly said that’s the flavor that I want for The Empire Strikes Back. And it changed everything – not just the revelation of Darth [Vader] being the father but the tone of everything changed from then on. And that’s when I came into it and I thought this is so much more interesting – and I love A New Hope– but this makes it more than A New Hope. So, each director defines the movie and Rian Johnson who will do the next episode will change it enormously.” (December 21, 2015)

Lawrence Kasdan: “[J .J. Abrams and I have] not really [sketched out the next episodes]. [The Force Awakens] sets up a lot of stuff. There’s a lot of people to deal with. And Rian took on that job and he’s going to change it, because he’s Rian. And I’m sure Colin will change what Rian does…. These movies will all be so different. Rian Johnson is a friend of mine — he’s going to make some weird thing. If you’ve seen Rian’s work, you know it’s not going be like anything that’s ever been in Star Wars.” “We talked about [the ending of the new trilogy] — and there’s a certain thing that people who are involved with it feel should happen. There’s a kind of movement that happens. But it’s not in your control. It’s going to veer off with Rian, and it’s going to veer off another way with Colin.” (December 22, 2015)

Daisy Ridley: “[Was Rey’s backstory completed before the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens?] Here’s what I think I know. J. J. wrote Episode VII, as well as drafts for VIII & IX. Then Rian Johnson arrived and wrote TLJentirely. I believe there was some sort of general consensus on the main lines of the trilogy, but apart from that, every director writes and realizes his film in his own way. Rian Johnson and J. J. Abrams met to discuss all of this, although Episode VIII is still his very own work. I believe Rian didn’t keep anything from the first draft of Episode VIII.” (March 1, 2018)

Daisy Ridley: “I mean [Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is] very different [from Star Wars: The Last Jedi]. I can’t give you the ending, ’cause that would ruin the next few months! (smiles)” ” It’s just a different story [from the last episode]. It’s a different route. We went down like more of an…I genuinely didn’t know what I was gonna get when I read the script and then the script like it’s changed…I don’t know.” “I mean no [it’s not more physical for me], ’cause it’s been physical the whole way, but I felt more able to do everything physically because I’ve had two films to like train in sword-fighting and, you know. No, it didn’t feel that different because it’s always a great time. It’s always been funny and always been dark and all of those bits. It’s just a new [story] direction. (smiles)” (August 24, 2019)

Daisy Ridley: “Well I felt like…at the end [of Star Wars: The Last Jedi] I was like, ‘Ah this is strange’ because it sort of feels like a finish but then we have another film to do and then J. J. [Abrams] figured out a way to take the story in such a different direction. Somebody said to me that they saw the [new] film and they said I was like the teenager in Episode VII and in [The] Rise of Skywalker it’s like Daisy 2.0 or something and I was like, ‘That’s nice.’ To just feel [that] I progressed. That’s a big one. ” (August 24, 2019)

tl;dr the idea became for every movie to be its own thing and a different direction not bound by the previous movie, with IX being the most powerful if only by speaking last in turn

Was this the best way to go about it? Probably not.

 

[Sithborg]

I will say, Star Wars seems to be forcing JJ to challenge himself visually.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

J. J. Abrams: "Trying to finish it and stick the landing [is more daunting than starting this Star Wars trilogy]. (laughs) Starting [the trilogy] had its challenges for sure - it was was the most challenging thing I'd ever done by a long shot - this ending is...The Force Awakens was nursery school compared to this. This movie has been an incredibly challenging and equally satisfying and gratifying experience. So I feel very lucky but we're still in it and we're still cutting and so I can't talk about it in the past tense. (August 24, 2019)

J. J. Abrams: "It's been a gift to get to work with these people again to get to deal with these characters again. I didn't think that was going to happen for me. This ending - which is such an important thing for all of us - by far has been the most challenging thing I've ever worked on." (August 24, 2019)

 

[BatLobster]

"The Force Awakens was nursery school compared to this" might be my favorite JJ quote so far about working on TROS. I think that says a lot about how this is going to be a much meatier film.

Again, say what you will about TLJ, but perhaps my favorite thing about it was that it left JJ in a position where he'd be forced to challenge himself and it sounds like he was game to rise to that challenge and understood the gravity of what he was taking on.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

J. J. Abrams: “I never found myself trying to repair anything. If I had done [Episode] VIII, I would have done things differently, just as Rian would have done things differently if he had done VII. But having worked on television series, I was accustomed to creating stories and characters that then were run by other people. If you’re willing to walk away from the thing that you created and you believe it’s in trustworthy hands, you have to accept that some of the decisions being made are not gonna be the same that you would make. And if you come back into it, you have to honor what’s been done.” (September 28, 2019) (archive)

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

J. J. Abrams: "I've admired Chris Terrio's writing for a long time. I called on him because I knew it would be a challenge. But I didn't know it would be quite as challenging as it was." (Empire magazine November 2019)

J. J. Abrams: "You can't plan everything in advance - which my 'Revenge of the Jedi' poster proves. You have a better idea and then you implement it. When I was working on [Episode] VII, I'd be lying if I said I knew everything that was gonna happen in VIII and IX. I had some ideas, but we had a release date that required us to work on VII!" (Empire magazine November 2019)

J. J. Abrams: "Some people feel like we shouldn't revisit the idea of Palpatine, and I completely understand that. But if you're looking at these nine films as one story, I don't know many books where the last few chapters have nothing to do with those that have come before. If you look at the first eight films, all the set-ups of what we're doing in [Episode] IX are there in plain view." (Empire magazine November 2019)

J. J. Abrams: "I'd rather let that ['Darth Rey'] one lie [than talk about it]. But I will say that the movie has a number of things that you wouldn't expect to have happen and that you wouldn't expect certain characters to do. (smiles) And that's one of them." (Empire magazine November 2019)

 

[Gothamsknight]

I trust in JJ so much. He's the only person that could finish this trilogy and saga, if you ask me.

 

[Doctor Jones]

I'm just sick of Abrams' mystery box and teasing that just adds up to nothing new. In this case, the mystery isn't a proper mystery it's just context-less that I am willing to bet my life on is a fake out. It's context-less in a film that is now trapped in a story that hasn't progressed. It's most likely a vision. Do we seriously think we'll get Dark Rey as your final chapter in the trilogy? That should have happened in the last movie and that idea is way too interesting for these movies. What frustrates me more with this probable fake out of Dark Rey in this case isn't the lack of creativity so much that it and Abrams thinks it can use context less footage like it's pretending to do something twisty when we know it won't. I don't get how people are speculating over it so much. By this point it makes no sense to.

This tactic is cheap when it comes to Abrams. I'm fine with context-less trailers, it just becomes problematic when in hindsight the trailers are just fake outs and they end up adding up to nothing in the film. These movies expect we're invested. It hasn't earned this. Make me care, don't just presume I should by this point. You can still care and know what the movie is about without being spoiled.

All of this for what will add up to the defeat of the Emperor again probably but FOR REAL this time. Kylo Ren will be redeemed and there will be hope again but FOR REAL this time blah blah blah. It doesn't take that much thought to figure out how this will play out. I'm not being duped by this again. This movie is being over thought to what will add up to the utmost basic thing. These films are a representation in gradualism. It will just be some coda at best, a disclaimer at worst for the previous trilogy.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

J. J. Abrams: “[Episode IX posed] mind-boggling challenges.” “The ending of this trilogy of trilogies is a tricky thing. This movie has to work on its own. It’s got to have its own beginning, middle and end. It can’t make the mistake of a lot of sequels, where you just assume a character is beloved, where the movie suffers because the character is suddenly lacking. We can’t assume anyone cares.” (November 11, 2019)

J. J. Abrams: “On [Episode 9], I let myself be, at least in the way I was approaching the thing, freer. In Episode 7, I was adhering to a kind of approach that felt right for Star Wars in my head. It was about finding a visual language, like shooting on locations and doing practical things as much as possible. And we continue that in Episode 9, but I also found myself doing things that I’m not sure I would have been as daring to do on Episode 7.” “Rian [Johnson] helped remind me that that’s why we’re on these movies – not to just do something that you’ve seen before. I won’t say that I felt constrained or limited on 7, but I found myself wanting to do something that felt more consistent with the original trilogy than not. And on 9, I found myself feeling like I’m just gonna go for it a bit more.” (November 11, 2019)

J. J. Abrams: “The confidence of the [Rey] character has grown as, I think, the confidence of the actress has grown. It is hard for me to separate Daisy from Rey, and I know that when writing the character, I have Daisy and her rhythms in my head. Luckily, she is as sharp and thoughtful and funny as they come, so knowing I am writing for her always raises the bar.” (November 12, 2019)

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

J. J. Abrams: “[George Lucas] had a lot of things to say [during prep for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker] about the nature of the Force, the themes that he was dealing with when he was writing the movies. Yes, there were some conversations about Midi-chlorians – he loves his Midi-chlorians. But it was a very helpful thing. Sitting with him is a treat, just to hear him talk, because it’s ****ing George Lucas talking about Star Wars. I always feel it’s a gift to hear him talk about that stuff. Because the effect that he had on me at 10 years old is utterly profound.” (November 13, 2019)

 

[TheVileOne]

I will say this about JJ Abrams. He knows how to talk to the press.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

J. J. Abrams: "I couldn't concentrate on VIII and IX [before], because I was trying to make The Force Awakens. [However while I had little to no say in previous movie], nothing [Rian Johnson] was doing undid anything that I thought was where the story would go." "I have no intention of undoing stuff. It's a continuation of the story. But as you know, stories have turns and twists that mean things don't always go in a straight line as you might think." (SciFi Now Magazine Issue 165)

J. J. Abrams: "By far [Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker] is the most challenging thing I've ever been a part of, this movie. For a lot of reasons. Story reasons, expectation reasons, dealing with the characters, what's come before, but this trilogy of movies was always a continuation of this saga...all the set ups for what happens in this movie are right there in I through VIII, many of them in I through VI. So we didn't try to reinvent everything. Obviously we're using some of the characters, we're using a lot of the themes, but these themes must be revisited in new ways. It's not to say we want to do the same stuff. If you catch all nine of these movies together, there's an absolute continuum." (SciFi Now Magazine Issue 165)

 

[Gothamsknight]

JJ has the weight of the world on his shoulders and I'm confident he'll deliver.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Total Film Magazine interviews (December 2019)

J. J. Abrams: "We very intentionally started Episode VII with [the quote 'This will begin to make things right. Without the Jedi there can be no balance in the Force']. The hope was that movie would set in motion a story, ultimately, about these characters dealing with the unresolved story that Episodes I through VI began. Hopefully, Episode IX fulfills that promise."

J. J. Abrams: "[There was a] loose plan [for the three episodes]. Nothing Rian [Johnson] was doing was undoing anything that I was thinking would happen." "It was too tempting - to conclude not just this trilogy, but the three trilogies. Coming back, essentially it was a clean slate [for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker]. Because I wasn't brand new to the world of it, Kathy [Kennedy] knew that there had been a sense of where this thing would go. In a way, it's like getting a second chance, to go back to something that you really thought you had put behind you."

J. J. Abrams: "[I approached the story like a] living, breathing thing." "This has to be the war to end all wars. This has to be the ultimate battle. Not just externally, but internally, for the characters. In Episode VII these characters are just meeting, and they were almost separate for the entire movie. This is the first time you get to see this group of people, these group of friends, together on an adventure - their most challenging yet, against something that is the biggest threat. Can these new, young characters handle it? That, to me, defines the feeling of Star Wars."

J. J. Abrams: "The conversation about bringing people back came from looking at the nine movies and seeing what the story is telling us. There was an absolute inevitability. For someone who says, 'Don't bring Palpatine back, it's not an original idea,' I would say, if you're looking at the story these movies tell, he's very much part of that and the big picture. All the setups that you need are in the existing movies."

J. J. Abrams: "[I made] bold and surprising [choices with the story of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker]." "I wouldn't want someone to see this and go, 'That's crazy.' But, if you're not doing something that's going to shock some people, you're probably not going as far as you should."

 

[BatLobster]

Someone put all of these J.J. quotes directly into my veins, pls.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Entertainment Weekly - Inside Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: ‘The stakes are all or nothing’

Kathleen Kennedy: “Every one of these movies is a particularly hard nut to crack. There’s no source material. We don’t have comic books. We don’t have 800-page novels. We don’t have anything other than passionate storytellers who get together and talk about what the next iteration might be. We go through a really normal development process that everybody else does. You start by talking to filmmakers who you think exhibit the sensibilities that you’re looking for. And I would argue that the list is very small — people who really do have the sensibilities about these kind of movies, and then the experience and the ability to handle how enormous a job these movies are. So we try to be as thoughtful as we possibly can about making those choices. I would also argue that sometimes people get involved in the normal development process, and then they realize, ‘Oh, my God, this is so much more than I ever imagined.’ So it’s pretty common that when you’re working on movies, you’re not making choices and decisions that necessarily work out exactly the way you want from the get-go. It’s been an evolving process with lots of people and lots of opinions, and then you try to shape something into what it eventually becomes. So I feel really fortunate that I’ve worked with so many great people that have been absolutely committed, J.J. [Abrams] being one of them. He’s a huge fan, incredibly passionate about Star Wars, and has been from the moment he and I sat down and started talking about this. And the more he got involved, the more excited he became. So I think if you asked him today, he probably wishes he’d been in a situation where he could have done all three — but as I said, these are huge projects. So it’s very difficult unless there’s three or four years in between. It’s not really physically possible.” (November 19, 2019)

Kathleen Kennedy: "When you’re dealing, as I said, with something where you don’t necessarily have any source material, then you’re looking for a filmmaker who has a strong point of view, who can find themselves in the characters and in the story. That’s what drives the momentum of the storytelling. And I think J.J. [Abrams] is a perfect example of that. He can’t do anything without his energy and enthusiasm becoming very much a part of the storytelling. So he’s very fun to be in a room with when you’re when you’re trying to break story, because he does have that amazing energy and enthusiasm. And he’s funny. That always helps. We spent a lot of time laughing." (November 19, 2019)

Kathleen Kennedy: “Well, I wouldn’t say you ever get to a point [in the process of making a movie like Episode IX] where you just go, ‘That’s it.’ It’s a constantly evolving process. I mean, there’s still little things that we’re trying to get exactly right, right now. You never stop the storytelling iterations that go on in making these movies. But we know what these previous eight movies are. We know what that story is. So in this movie, we’re taking all of what’s come before, and we’re trying to find a satisfying conclusion. And I think we have, and that’s something that we can only depend on our instincts to arrive at, whether or not we have. And then we have what I would call the family and friends that you pull in and you show things to when you try to get some kind of feedback, and make sure that you’re making sense and that you’re delivering on the things that you intend. That’s something that we’re still talking about right now.” (November 19, 2019)

Kathleen Kennedy: “I think there’s plenty of examples where people create something that is fundamental to who they are, where it’s difficult letting go and watching that become something different. So I think initially, that was difficult for George [Lucas] — I don’t think he anticipated how hard that would be. And J.J. [Abrams] came into it with such enthusiasm and, frankly, reverence for Star Wars and for George, and had to find what was personal for him. He had to make it his own. Every director who comes into a movie has to make something their own; they have to find themselves in the storytelling. And then that’s going to become a different point of view. And I think that’s all George was reacting to. He may not agree with every choice J.J. made. He may not agree with every choice Rian [Johnson] made. But he appreciates the filmmaking. That I know. […] So I see him get caught up in this again, and I think there’s a little bit of regret that he’s not on the stage and directing movies and in it still. And that may filter into it as well. I can’t really speak on behalf of what George is feeling all the time. But I know that he’s very, very proud of what he created. And to see people go on and enjoy this now into almost 2020 is pretty remarkable.” (November 19, 2019)

J. J. Abrams: “We always knew we were going to have three fewer months to postproduction this film. So much is still being worked on. It’s literally a practical race to get it finished.” "[I'm feeling] infinitely better [at this very late stage about The Rise of Skywalker than I was about The Force Awakens]." “We had more reshoots on Episode VII than this one. We had more story adjustments on VII than this one. We didn’t know if these characters would work, if the actors would be able to carry a Star Wars movie. There were a lot of things we didn’t know. On this, we knew who and what worked, and everyone is doing the best work I’ve ever seen anyone do. But the ambition of this movie is far greater than Force Awakens. What we set out to do was far more challenging. Everything is exponentially larger on this.” “The [trailers] that have come out are scratching the surface of what the movie is.” "Yes [there are major action sequences we’ve yet to see any footage from]." "The stakes are all or nothing with this film.” (November 19, 2019)

J. J. Abrams: “The scavenger [Rey] who is desperate and haggling for portions and trying to survive [in Force Awakens] — those special skills and that special experience ends up being something that is essential to saving the galaxy.” "[I see Rey and Kylo Ren as] two sides of the same coin, even when they’re not together they still haunt each other in a way — they know they are each other’s unresolved business.” (November 19, 2019)

J. J. Abrams: "[The Death Star remnants] felt like going into the haunted house, the place that you have to go to. This is a story of people having to grapple with the burden the prior generation dumps on those that follow. So literally returning to this wreck of the past and having to fight it out felt like an obvious metaphor, but also felt incredibly cinematic." (November 19, 2019)

J. J. Abrams: “Saying Leia had passed away, or that she was off somewhere else, felt like a cheat. Then I remembered we had these scenes that we hadn’t used from Episode VII. It was like finding this impossible answer to this impossible question. Suddenly we had classic Carrie in these amazing moments. So when you see in the movie, it’s her, she’s there. It’s not like there’s some crazy digital trickery. She’s just in the movie.” “[What Force Ghosts can and cannot do is] probably best answered, by not answering it.” (November 19, 2019)

 

[TheVileOne]

JJ Abrams sounds a little patronizing sometimes.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

J. J. Abrams: "I felt going into this, even on [Episode] VII — I don’t remember if this was discussed or not, but it felt like this was the final trilogy. It felt like it earned being the conclusion of that story. Who’s to say what comes next? Is there something else to be done that involves any of these characters? I’m working on nothing [Star Wars-related], so I’m not hinting at anything. I’m just saying, who’s to know, but it just felt like the end." "When I read [Rian Johnson's] first draft, it made me laugh, because I saw that was his take and his voice. I got to watch cuts of the movie as he was working on it, as an audience member. And I appreciated the choices he made as a filmmaker that would probably be very different from the choices that I would have made. Just as he would have made different choices if he had made Episode VII." "I felt the biggest surprise was how dark Luke was [in Star Wars: The Last Jedi]. That was the thing that I thought: 'Oh, that was unexpected.' And that’s the thing The Last Jedi undeniably succeeds at, which is constant subversion of expectation. The number of things that happened in that movie that aren’t the thing you think is going to happen is pretty fun." "I had a real sense with [Force Awakens co-screenwriter] Larry Kasdan about where things would go, potentially. And I think that, when I read Rian’s script, what I felt was that with everything that happens in that movie, and quite a lot does, nothing sort of obviated a sense of inevitability where I thought the story could go." (November 21, 2019)

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

 

[GREEN =w= DAY]

Kathleen Kennedy: “Every one of these movies is a particularly hard nut to crack. There’s no source material. We don’t have comic books. We don’t have 800-page novels.

Kathleen Kennedy is a moron and this quote just shows her level of incompetence

Guess she didn’t bother to research all the EU comics and novels that have been out since the 90s, most of which is thousands times better than what they’ve delivered with the sequel trilogy

I hope the rumors of her getting replaced are true