Trevorrow is OUT as Ep. IX director... Thoughts?


It's just been announced that Colin Trevorrow is booted from working on Ep. IX.

Personally, I thought that much of his take on Jurassic Park was poorly executed.

What few statements he made regarding what he was doing on the final act of the trilogy were very worrying to me.

So, personally, I'm quite relieved that he's been canned.

Any thoughts on who would make a good replacement?

For me, Filoni should be a shoe in.

Filoni's an accomplished artist in his own right, who's proven himself time and time again. It's impossible for me to imagine that he'd endorse much of all of the lazy "designs" that are plaguing the screen in the new trilogy. I'm completely convinced that he'd ensure that truly fresh takes that still deeply honor McQuarrie's brilliance would make it to the screen.

If he's really smart, his first new hire would be Ansel Hsaio. That man is an undeniable genius. His weakest work easily blows the current trilogies "efforts" right out of the water. https://www.artstation.com/fractalsponge

More here on Trevorrow's deep-sixing:
http://www.slashfilm.com/emergency-podcast-lets-discuss-colin-trevorrow-leaving-star-wars-episode-9/

What Rian Johnson said on twitter just in the past couple of months. https://twitter.com/rianjohnson/status/ ... 7894132736

Whoa!

He probably had a little birdie whisper in his ear!

If Ep. VIII's story is as amazing as they say it is, then I wouldn't hesitate to back him up for the final film.

Just keep him away from the concept artists. lol

Well, that link you supplied sure IS interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Apparently, Rian Johnson is the front runner to direct Episode IX: http://deadline.com/2017/09/rian-johnso ... 202162109/

I think you put this in the wrong thread.
viewforum.php?f=2024

word is that 8 is finished, ready to show... if Rian ran such a tight ship, Id have him back also

Good sign.

I'm not a fan of Trevorrow, so I'm glad he's out. Hopefully they'll ask Johnson back. I'd imagine it's a done deal already...

Johnson confirms the obvious: There's no plan for the ST - just make shit up as you go along.

Lucasfilm, collectively, and Lucas himself has had 30+ years to figure-out what happened to the iconic heroes of the OT after ROTJ. Today, simply winging it Episode to Episode based on the individual creative whims an of-the-moment director seems profoundly wrong-headed. Leave spontaneity for the Anthology films. I want substantial thought when it comes to the Skywalker family. Too late, I guess.

From E_CHU_TA!:
I want substantial thought when it comes to the Skywalker family.

I couldn't agree more with you.

I'm not a big fan of Lucas' rather ham-fisted approach to delivering his message: but I absolutely endorse The Message. To myself, it's as important as the central tenets touched upon in The Matrix. He pulled off some rather brave stuff right under the noses of everyone, and most everyone (sadly) misses it. Making the "lily white" Jedi be the bad guys who made Palpatine possible? Who saw that coming? Answer: no one. It took a lot of courage to do something so bold, and I deeply respect him just for that alone.

I'm chompin' at the bit to read what Lucas' original vision for this current trilogy was, simply because he tries to think (sometimes too fuzzily) long term. I'm confident that someday his proposal will get out into the open.

And I agree with you about long term planning. My favorite TV series all had a long term plan that was stuck to till a brilliant and satisfying end:

Babylon 5
Breaking Bad
Game of Thrones
Ozarks

The payoff that these types of shows engender is far more satisfying because of their commitment to quality and craft. It's a lot of HARD work.

Still, I'm desperately hoping that the buzz that's leaking out regarding how amazing Ep. VIII's story is is accurate. We'll know soon enough. The earlier Lucasfilm allows film critics to see it, that'll flag that the film is going to be great. If it's a truly astounding product, then they'll give the critics plenty of time to write well constructed reviews. Lucasfilm will also permit the publishing of their articles well in advance of the premiere, so that the word of mouth from the professionals is overwhelming.

If, however, Lucasfilm keeps the critics at bay till the last second, and prevents them from publishing till the night before, then that will be a major red flag that there's a plump ol' turkey waiting in the theatres for us.

We'll see...

If the writing is truly astounding, then I can handle Johnson's return to wrap up the final script in a satisfactory fashion. If not him, then please, Filoni.

He doesn't say that. He says, "There’s always wiggle room in these movies," and that has always been the case. The original trilogy wasn't etched in stone from day one either.

Yes, you're correct.

Lucas has made some rather huge alterations late in the period of production, such as replacing Wookiees for ewoks in Return of the Jedi, a decision that I feel really badly juvenilized that film. I don't have problems with material for juveniles, as long as it's well executed and completely avoids costumes too stiff to move properly in, unblinking eyes and zipper seams.

:-D

Had he kept the Wookies it would've matured the film a lot, connected well with Ep. 3'a depiction of the Wookies' plight, and a lot more. And wee little Wookies could've been present for the kids and stuffed animals sales.

With the OT, some plot points changed order. And, yes - tangential elements (like Ewoks) morphed. But, these types of alterations didn't impact the overall arc of the Skywalker's.

The only major story element that changed was Leia becoming Luke's sister. That was a big u-turn.

The biggest difference between the OT, PT, and ST is that an individual drove the overall trajectory of the OT and PT while the ST is handled like a really.

Again, there's no imperative reason why an overall arc needs to be individuality conjured movie to movie. Lucas thought long and hard about the OT and PT before the films were made. He and other intelligent people have thought about the trajectory of the ST.


I think more about film than TV. The Tolkien and Dark Knight movies had Jackson and Nolan, respectively. I'm not completely sure how the Marvel films work, but there's clearly a lot of forethought for its film universe. Why shouldn't Star Wars have the same approach?

Well Daisy Ridley has said over a year ago she knew who Rey's parents were early on, so that part was known at least.

And Vader becoming Luke's father.

So I agree with your overall sentiment, but when it comes to critics... remember critics were rather positive over TFA, and I personally think that film warranted lots of criticism... so they are not nesersarily purveyors of taste/quality. Also, gagging orders will be in place regardless as I expect TLJ to have a couple of big revelations that Lucasfilm absolutely won't want being spoiled.

That's good to know. But, did that information come from Abrams or Johnson (as he was writing TLJ)?

I suppose my concern is more with the Legacy pieces - Luke, Leia, Yoda, Obi-wan, Anakin, the droids, Lando, the Jedi, the Sith, the Force itself, the Republic, etc....

I'd imagine the 'story group' had a complete outline (if only high level) for the whole ST as part of pre-production on The Force Awakens. I'd posit that any major plot points e.g Rey's lineage, Luke's reasons for leaving, Snoke's origins etc. where devised then... and subsequently developed during pre-production for TLJ... and will be for IX. I'm not sure how much opportunity the director has to deviate (or develop) from the outline/the 'story group' when drafting the script, but I imagine it was that element where Trevorrow came to blows... Perhaps he wasn't willing to adhere to that outline? Perhaps he just didn't have the ability to develop it in an interesting way? Either way, I think it points to the powers that be being broadly happy with what Johnson's done...

http://www.slashfilm.com/reys-parents-t ... e-awakens/

One of the big questions we had going into Star Wars: The Force Awakens was who, exactly, Rey could be related to… and one of the big questions we had coming out of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was still who, exactly, Rey could be related to. Although the character makes reference to a family that left her behind on Jakku, she doesn’t say who her parents are, and the film doesn’t spend much time dwelling on that aspect of her past.

Naturally, in the absence of confirmed info, tons of theories have sprung up. Fans have wondered if Rey could secretly be a Skywalker, a Kenobi, a Solo, a Palpatine, an Erso, or some combination of the above. But Rey herself, Daisy Ridley, apparently thought the answer was hiding in plain sight. The actress said she thought “a lot was answered in The Force Awakens,” and that it wasn’t until later that she realized fans were still in the dark about Rey’s heritage.

Ridley has promised in the past that Episode VIII would finally, at long last, reveal the truth about Rey’s parents. However, she admitted in a recent interview with Time Out London, she originally assumed the answer had been revealed in The Force Awakens.


I thought a lot was answered in ‘The Force Awakens’. Then after the screening I went for a drink with my agent and everyone, and we were chatting away and I realized that oh, in their minds it’s not answered at all!

Now that she knows we don’t know, however, she is determined to keep her lips sealed. At least until Episode VIII comes out next year.

I think curiosity is a wonderful thing. And I do find it quite funny that people keep asking about it. Just yesterday a guy asked to take a picture with me and went, “Is Luke your dad?” And I was like, “Chill out, you’ll see!”

Okay, let’s think this through. The fact that Ridley figured fans would figure out Rey’s parentage in The Force Awakens seems to suggest she’s related to a character we saw, or at least heard about, in that movie. That points to some of the more obvious suspects, like Leia, Luke, or Han. It seems unlikely she’s the child of Leia, given that Leia greets Rey like a stranger in the movie. That suggests she’s probably not Han Solo’s daughter, either, unless we’re to believe he had a kid he didn’t know about with another woman. Luke seems like the best possibility of the three, especially given that the film ends with the two of them together. But when and how would that have happened?

Thankfully, we won’t have to wait too much longer to unlock the mystery, since Episode VIII is out next year. But, Ridley warns, the solution to that particular puzzle could be just the beginning. “I’d love to see the look on people’s faces,” she said. “But with answers come more questions, and there’s definitely going to be enough to keep people going for another two years!”

It doesn't appear that the "story group" has an outline. From the New York Times Article:

---

Q: How much of the story of “The Last Jedi” was dictated to you, either by events in “The Force Awakens” or by Lucasfilm?

A: I had figured there would be a big map on the wall with the whole story laid out, and it was not that at all. I was basically given the script for “Episode VII;” I got to watch dailies of what J. J. was doing. And it was like, where do we go from here? That was awesome.

Q: So there’s no one telling you that your film has to contain certain plot points, or that certain things have to be achieved by its end?

A: Nothing like that. But it’s the second film in a trilogy. The first film got these characters here. This second movie has to dig into and challenge these characters. I wanted this to be a satisfying experience unto itself. I didn’t want it to end with a dot, dot, dot, question mark.

Q: What is your working relationship with Colin Trevorrow? [Editor’s note: This interview took place before Lucasfilm parted ways with Mr. Trevorrow, who was to have directed “Star Wars: Episode IX.”]

It’s been very similar to J. J. and I. I’ve given it some trajectory forward, and now I get to see where another storyteller is going to take it. I’ve been available, and he’s shot me questions. But I’m pretty much sitting back and seeing how it’s all going to come together for him.

---

I'm guessing that Trevorrow is out, because of Kennedy's gut, and not because he isn't obeying orders. In hiring another script writer, it's obvious that she found his script problematic. By extension, she feared that he could not deliver a good movie. I'm sure she was also getting a lot of input from Disney higher-up's.

At this point, it's hard to tell if Johnson is open to helming another movie.


Johnson states that Rey's parents are "interesting as opposed to impactful." I'm now going to guess that Rey's parents are First Order subjects or First Order officers who panicked when they found out that their child was Force-sensitive.

---

Q:“The Force Awakens” left you with many significant unanswered questions: Who are Rey’s parents? Why did Luke flee? Who is the mysterious villain, Supreme Leader Snoke? To the extent that “The Last Jedi” answers any of them, did you feel obliged to consult with J. J.? If I had questions — what did you think this was going to be? What were your ideas for this? — I could always ask him. But those questions only address what these characters want and how they get there.

A: Take the question of who Rey’s parents are: If you get the information — oh, it’s that! — who really cares? I know a lot of people care, but it’s interesting as opposed to impactful. Now, what is my place in the world? Where do I come from? Where do I belong? O.K., I understand what the weight of that is. We could play with those questions and their answers to have the biggest emotional impact on these characters.

---

Now how would Daisy think it was settled to the audience that her parents were First Order officers or such? Where were the clues of that? Did you read what all she said?

I'm not sure what she is getting at or if she is simply playfully muddying the waters.

http://www.starwars.com/news/j-j-abrams ... 1069686789

JJ is in.

Oh shit...