J. J. Abrams Comments On The Lack Of A Plan With Sequel Trilogy
J. J. Abrams was responsible for launching the Disney-Lucasfilm era of Star Wars with Force Awakens. However, after Episode VII, the sequel trilogy fell into the huge controversial mess of Last Jedi, and Rise of Skywalker. Due to the lack of character development, storytelling, and continuity in the sequel trilogy, fans from all over the world began to ask if Disney and Lucasfilm actually had a consistent plan for these movies at all.
Months after the release of Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker, the star of the sequel trilogy Daisy Ridley told fans that, in fact, there was no consistent plan for the story, or the sequel trilogy. She revealed how the fate of her character was altered many times before an actual script was released. Notably, she mentioned how she did not knew of Rey's lineage as Palpatine's granddaughter until production for Rise of Skywalker started.
After the conclusion of the sequel trilogy, other actors like John Boyega, Adam Driver, and Oscar Isaac came out and confirm Daisy’s claim. They also revealed the number of times the direction of the story was changed, and how displeased they were with the sequel trilogy. All these actors, who spoke in regard to the sequel trilogy’s sloppy story, also announced to fans that they would not come back to the Star Wars universe and reprise their roles.
Although the main cast of the sequel trilogy were the first to confirm the rumors in regard to the trilogy’s lack of storytelling and continuity, recently, director J. J. Abrams also backed up this claim, and gave us a deeper insight on the matter. Abrams spoke to Collider and elaborated on the little planning that actually went for the sequel trilogy. Abrams also pointed out that this experience served as a lesson for the future: to always plan as much as one can, and to work closely with the source material.
“I’ve been involved in a number of projects that have been — in most cases, series — that have ideas that begin the thing where you feel like you know where it’s gonna go, and sometimes it’s an actor who comes in, other times it’s a relationship that as-written doesn’t quite work, and things that you think are gonna just be so well-received just crash and burn and other things that you think like, ‘Oh that’s a small moment’ or ‘That’s a one-episode character’ suddenly become a hugely important part of the story.”
The controversial sequel trilogy could have been saved if there was more planning involved in the plot and character development. Perhaps the disjunction could have been avoided if J. J. Abrams had stayed on to direct Last Jedi. According to fans who disliked the film, it would have prevented the many tragedies the movie brought to the Skywalker saga. Many fans also believe that, if Disney had used Lucas's trilogy, all these problems would have been avoided. After many years, Lucas’s ideas for the sequel trilogy were finally released. Angry with Disney’s version of the sequel trilogy, fans wished that George’s sequel trilogy was the actual trilogy, instead of what we got.
Despite the lack of planning for the final three chapters of the Skywalker saga, the future of Star Wars looks promising.The co-creator of the immensely popular Clone WarsDave Filoni has been officially named the executive creative director of Lucasfilm. Filoni is of course responsible for the good side of Disney’s Star Wars, such as Clone Wars, Rebels, Mandalorian, and most recently Bad Batch. After this announcement, fans can rest knowing that the future of Star Wars, is in the hands of someone who cares.
Source: IndieWire