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

[antsman41]

Rumor is Bond 25 isn’t shying from close to 3 hours... yet, JJ was scared and let Disney chop up his film into the 220 nonsensical mess.

 

[TheVileOne]

Rumor is Bond 25 isn’t shying from close to 3 hours... yet, JJ was scared and let Disney chop up his film into the 220 nonsensical mess.

It's not like all of Abrams' ideas for the third movie were good ones.

 

[henzINNIT]

Some extra scenes would make the film more coherent but ultimately it would only be a marginal improvement.

 

[BatLobster]

The longer cut thing is the epitome of mileage may vary thing. If you're not a fan of the major creative decisions on principle, then no, obviously it's not going to help.

I was pro-Palpatine returning, pro-Rey being connected to Palpatine, etc. long before the movie came out. I still think those are acceptable choices, and I really don't have any issue that it's the general direction they went in. I always hoped that this would be a 3 hour film or close to it. So for me seeing a more streamlined version of the film just re-affirmed my feeling that it deserved more runtime to do that story justice.

Still, I think once Carrie passed away literally any version of Episode IX you could possibly come up with would be less than optimal. It was always supposed to be her film. And Ep IX's biggest problems can clearly be found in Act I, which was written around her the most.

Meh. I'm looking forward to revisiting the ST with some distance. I feel neither enthusiastic or negative about it at the moment. It's definitely not as great as it could've been and there's a reasonable discussion to be had about how it was lacking a central creative voice. But it's also nowhere near as bad as some make it out to be. The whole discourse around it has been so exhausting and really taken a lot of the fun out of it for me. Ultimately I did have fun with these films, and thought they added some interesting layers to the mythos despite not living up to their full potential. Not an unfamiliar place to be for me as a Star Wars fan who enjoyed the prequels.

 

[TheVileOne]

I just hope we're not stuck in perpetual prequel cycles for the next 20 years.

 

[BatLobster]

The franchise will never live up to the Original Trilogy. Fullstop. If we're truly looking to the OT as the bar in terms of how it pushed cinema forward and defined an era of filmmaking that we're arguably still living in, it's just not going to happen.

 

[TheVileOne]

The franchise will never live up to the Original Trilogy. Fullstop. If we're truly looking to the OT as the bar in terms of how it pushed cinema forward and defined an era of filmmaking that we're arguably still living in, it's just not going to happen.

I dunno, I feel like filmmakers shouldn't stop trying because of that. It's self-defeating.

 

[Detective Conan]

The franchise will never live up to the Original Trilogy. Fullstop. If we're truly looking to the OT as the bar in terms of how it pushed cinema forward and defined an era of filmmaking that we're arguably still living in, it's just not going to happen.

Eh, I don’t know if I agree. I think you can live up to OT by trying a fresh but great story with excellent writing, directing and characters. Besides, I don’t think even the original trilogy is perfect and while the franchise will never reach the level of OT in terms of being influential I still think it’s possible to make a modern Star Wars movie that’s equal to, or even surpass the OT. You just have to have the right story.

 

[Mani-Man]

Rumor is Bond 25 isn’t shying from close to 3 hours... yet, JJ was scared and let Disney chop up his film into the 220 nonsensical mess.

3 hours should have been a minimum imo for this "final" movie of the skywalker saga.
Anything less is a crime.
Again i dont want to blame Abrams too much because i dont know how much Disney interfered with his work and i also dont think its completely nonsensical.
But thats neither here nor there, its done and exists as it does.

Some extra scenes would make the film more coherent but ultimately it would only be a marginal improvement.

Yup, beefing up a few things would have rounded this up a bit more, but it wouldnt have created a whole different movie and trilogy.

I just hope we're not stuck in perpetual prequel cycles for the next 20 years.

Hopefully not, moving forward would be cool...i still see a ton of potential in going forward with Rey and all.
There is so much you can do with going forward.
Sure there is still a lot room for movies and stuff that in terms of the timeline is taking place before the various episodes and after, but it wouldnt hurt to have something with a clean plate.

 

[BatLobster]

Eh, I don’t know if I agree. I think you can live up to OT by trying a fresh but great story with excellent writing, directing and characters. Besides, I don’t think even the original trilogy is perfect and while the franchise will never reach the level of OT in terms of being influential I still think it’s possible to make a modern Star Wars movie that’s equal to, or even surpass the OT. You just have to have the right story.

I don't disagree-- you can still make something great with Star Wars. I hope to see lots of it. I'm a huge fan of the world after all., and love spending time in it. I just fundamentally believe that the pure inventiveness of the original Star Wars on all levels is what truly makes it special. It was telling a very familiar story, but using never before seen technology to do it and blow audiences away. I'm just being realistic about the prospects of that ever truly being duplicated. At some point I think it's okay to admit that the genie is out of the bottle. Not just with Star Wars, either. As an audience, we have seen SO much at this point and we know they can do basically anything. We're far more jaded.

The closest I think we've seen in the modern era attempt to do something similar is Avatar. And even that falls pretty far short. We'll see what the sequels do. I'm not one to doubt Cameron, but it feels like a phenomenon that has passed.

I think my point is, the franchise can continue to expand the box. It can incrementally push things forward (like the attempt at CG Tarkin for example). It can obviously tell a great story. But that is just not the same as creating a whole new box, which is the bar the original trilogy set. We have to remember, Star Wars wasn't received in a "Well gee, that was a good movie" sort of way.

It had people literally standing up and cheering at the OPENING SHOT. People going to see it 20+ times and arranging birthday parties over it wasn't uncommon. It was a phenomenon unlike anything we've seen in cinema, before or since.

IMO, if we're ever going to see something that groundbreaking again, it's going to come from someplace elsewhere. Maybe it can be something new that Lucasfilm creates down the line. But I just think the deeper you get into an IP, the more baggage you're accumulating. Especially in a scenario like this, where you really can't reboot. Star Wars has a LOT of baggage.

 

[Gothamsknight]

I still enjoy this movie, but it really needed to be a lot longer. I still am surprised this wan't even close to 3 hours

 

[Frodo]

At this point, the film franchise truly needs to move beyond the Skywalker saga and family and do what they're doing with Mando.

Tell strong, new , compelling stories in a familiar world in addition to respect, and reverence for the myths. That's half the battle right there.

What those stories are , who makes them , and how they're executed, is another question. That's basically gonna depend on the decision making process at Lucasfilm and Disney.

Above all, they need to know what their franchise is and what they want it to be going forward. I'm skeptical Disney and Lucasfilm really know or agree, as a collective, what the SW film franchise is in 2020 or what it will be going forward.

They seem to have a bit of a better idea as far as TV goes , though the Obi Wan drama demonstrates to me that they may be struggling there as well.

But look, whatever the end result is , they have to get beyond these polarizing products, and get to a point in which they're hitting it out of the park quality wise most of the time, and get to a point in which alot of fans and the GA ,can both agree that each new film going forward is good.

 

[MaceB]

I didn’t love the prequels, but I didn’t want them wished out of existence. Rise of Skywalker decided that it didn’t want to go full circle and return to the themes that the prequels started. They make the series feel more disconnected, not less. And that was the principle hurdle they had to get over to make the sequels worth watching. As it stands, these sequels feel like an unnecessary and redundant addition.

 

[henzINNIT]

I didn’t love the prequels, but I didn’t want them wished out of existence. Rise of Skywalker decided that it didn’t want to go full circle and return to the themes that the prequels started. They make the series feel more disconnected, not less. And that was the principle hurdle they had to get over to make the sequels worth watching. As it stands, these sequels feel like an unnecessary and redundant addition.

The Emperor's return gave JJ an easy path toward cohesion but he somehow squandered the opportunity. He quotes lines from Ep.3 and yet ignored all the potential that very scene laid out. Worse still, the Emperor is so badly handled that TROS cheapens the films before.

 

[Mani-Man]

The Emperor's return gave JJ an easy path toward cohesion but he somehow squandered the opportunity. He quotes lines from Ep.3 and yet ignored all the potential that very scene laid out. Worse still, the Emperor is so badly handled that TROS cheapens the films before.

By now i have come around to "like" Palpatines return and all...of course not the execution of it...but in general i did like that he was the final villian in this.
A small part of me also would have loved to see a short 2 on 1 lightsaber duel with Ben and Rey fighting palpatine, but thats just a small fun idea in my head.

I do think just 5-10 minutes more to really explain the how and what, would have done a lot good for this all.
Just explaining how he is back, why he had snoke clones, what his goal was with Ben and so on.

Even the EU brought back Palpatine, so i think it would have been quite easy to explain his return.
Why they seemingly were so hellbent not to add a few minutes to explain, i dont get it at all.
Even with reshoots and stuff it took months to finish and edit this movie, did nobody thought a proper explenation would be needed?
I did like him in the final act because of the presence the character still has, mcdiarmid strong voice and all.

But everything could have been done better with him...its a damn shame how much 30 minutes or so could have done to the movie.
Wouldnt have made it perfect, but it would have made it all flow better.

 

[henzINNIT]

By now i have come around to "like" Palpatines return and all...of course not the execution of it...but in general i did like that he was the final villian in this.
A small part of me also would have loved to see a short 2 on 1 lightsaber duel with Ben and Rey fighting palpatine, but thats just a small fun idea in my head.

I do think just 5-10 minutes more to really explain the how and what, would have done a lot good for this all.
Just explaining how he is back, why he had snoke clones, what his goal was with Ben and so on.

Even the EU brought back Palpatine, so i think it would have been quite easy to explain his return.
Why they seemingly were so hellbent not to add a few minutes to explain, i dont get it at all.
Even with reshoots and stuff it took months to finish and edit this movie, did nobody thought a proper explenation would be needed?
I did like him in the final act because of the presence the character still has, mcdiarmid strong voice and all.

But everything could have been done better with him...its a damn shame how much 30 minutes or so could have done to the movie.
Wouldnt have made it perfect, but it would have made it all flow better.

Same here. I grew to accept Palpatine's return as it was a solid way to wrap up the 9 film saga. I enjoyed the creepy evil lair and appearance but he has barely any presence in the film, and because of this it doesn't feel earned.

I saw much better fan explanations out there. If Rey had to be related, it would have been much more interesting to me that Palp's made her, in the same method he made Anakin (possibly). That ties the story together more naturally.

 

[Mani-Man]

Same here. I grew to accept Palpatine's return as it was a solid way to wrap up the 9 film saga. I enjoyed the creepy evil lair and appearance but he has barely any presence in the film, and because of this it doesn't feel earned.

I saw much better fan explanations out there. If Rey had to be related, it would have been much more interesting to me that Palp's made her, in the same method he made Anakin (possibly). That ties the story together more naturally.

Yeah, it feels like he is thrown in as plan B...which just doesnt feel right.
The idea that he is the mastermind and all behind it, is cool...but it was not build towards.
They decided it on a whim.

Yup, the whole thing with her being palpatines granddaughter sure wraps things up...but incredible clumsy.
They handled "reys parents" badly right from the start.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

J. J. Abrams: “[Reaction to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was] good, bad, some people hated it, some people loved it. It was all over the place. To those who didn’t like it, I totally get it, respect it. To those who loved it, I’m grateful and dubious of your taste…kidding! I’m nothing but grateful. Obviously, a lot of people worked a lot of hours to do something that would make people feel good and that they’d love and anytime someone doesn’t like it you think ‘oh, yeah I could’ve done that better, I should’ve done that.’ You try to like take it in but for the most part I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who worked so hard to do it and for the people who saw it and loved it I’m grateful to them too.” “I’m incredibly proud of the entire crew and cast and I think they all deserve to be recognized for extraordinary work.” “Maybe [that criticism is inevitable], I don’t know. It’s easy to say that but I don’t know if that’s true.” (February 7, 2020)

 

[Spider-Fan]

Criticism may be inevitable, JJ. But in the case of this movie, more than warranted. What happens when your film sucks.

 

[Sian]

I've been a fan of the franchise for over forty years, and I enjoyed the first two sequels. TLJ has become my favourite all time SW film.

But the saddest thing about TROS is....it's a bad film. It's poorly made. Bad editing, bad dialogue, no plot, characters regressing......even some of the effects were dodgy.
I don't know if it's entirely Abrams fault, or Terrio's writing.

 

[Doctor Jones]

It was Abrams and Kennedy.

Reading that Trevorrow script, they abandoned that solid script for this crap? It tells you a lot if there wasn't enough evidence beforehand. Kennedy is just creatively conservative and it happens to coincide with Abrams over reverence for the past and nostalgia. You combine those things and you get this. It's like a culmination of everything wrong with this franchise since 2015.

 

[RaimiWebSpidey]

It was Abrams and Kennedy.

Reading that Trevorrow script, they abandoned that solid script for this crap? It tells you a lot if there wasn't enough evidence beforehand. Kennedy is just creatively conservative and it happens to coincide with Abrams over reverence for the past and nostalgia. You combine those things and you get this. It's like a culmination of everything wrong with this franchise since 2015.

Lol the Trevorrow script is even worse than TROS, and that’s saying a lot. Rey and Kylo Ren her terrible arcs in that script. This all comes down to JJ Abrams inability to come up with imaginative story telling, and being stuck in the OT. The CT script was bad, but was atleast original. Making Kylo the big bad with not real redemption though is unforgivable, considering he’s the last Skywalker of this trilogy. Can’t close the saga out with the last Skywalker evil, that’s such a Debbie downer.

 

[antsman41]

No it isn’t.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Lol the Trevorrow script is even worse than TROS, and that’s saying a lot. Rey and Kylo Ren her terrible arcs in that script. This all comes down to JJ Abrams inability to come up with imaginative story telling, and being stuck in the OT. The CT script was bad, but was atleast original. Making Kylo the big bad with not real redemption though is unforgivable, considering he’s the last Skywalker of this trilogy. Can’t close the saga out with the last Skywalker evil, that’s such a Debbie downer.

If that's how you personally feel, that's fine, criticism of the execution of an idea is fair game. And I get how you have preferences of where you would like to see things go. However I think it's unfair to criticize something based on something you personally don't think should happen.

 

[Spider-Fan]

I actually like him not being redeemed much more. Why must the bad guy always be redeemed? It's so cliche and uninteresting.