Star Wars Universe Thread: May The 4th Be With You

[KingdomFlatbush]

Of course this is 100% rumor with no evidence - take it with a tablespoon of salt, but according to this Disney is expecting Solo to bomb

http://www.screengeek.net/2017/12/24/disney-expects-solo-a-star-wars-story-to-bomb/

 

[Master Zik]

They should've never made it to begin with. Especially after killing off Han in TFA.

I knew they wanted that cowboy like type element of SW to milk but they really should've waited or risk introducing a new character.

 

[KingdomFlatbush]

Taken from Reddit: A recap of a Q&A with Rian Johnson

So I was right but keep pulling the capes out folks

We got Avengers Infinity War looming over our heads but we still outchea celebrating mediocre writing and nonexistent plotting

Point "J", in my opinion, does not bode well for IX

They should've never made it to begin with. Especially after killing off Han in TFA.

I knew they wanted that cowboy like type element of SW to milk but they really should've waited or risk introducing a new character.

Some old man somewhere is crying over his decades-crafted Yoda origin story treatment

 

[lamekilla]

Of course no one intervened with him writing the script. Rian Johnson is a hack, plain and simple.

 

[Master Zik]

Rian Johnson Responds to Fan Backlash

Spoiler

ENTERTAINMENT
'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' director Rian Johnson reacts to the backlash and addresses the movie's most shocking moments

Rian Johnson, the director and writer of "Star Wars: The Last Jedi."AP; Business Insider, Samantha Lee

• 
  
  
  • "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" writer-director Rian Johnson addressed the backlash from fans who say his movie isn't like the original trilogy.
  • He explained how the fan theories of where the story would go after "The Force Awakens" didn't affect writing the script.
  • He said he hoped a female director would soon make one of the "Star Wars" movies - perhaps in the new trilogy he's creating.

WARNING: Spoilers below if you haven't seen "Star Wars: The Last Jedi."

It's getting into the evening hours in Los Angeles on the first full day "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" is in theaters. Rian Johnson, the director of the biggest movie of the year, has not stopped moving for a week.

First Los Angeles for the press junket. Then Japan. Back to LA for the flashy world premiere. Followed by a jump to London. Now back again to LA for a final round of press - for now.

When Johnson, 43, gets on the phone, he sounds weary from jetting around the globe. But he perks up when it's time to talk about "The Last Jedi." It's not just a movie he spent the past four years of his life writing and then directing. It's more than that.

Johnson has been a lifelong fan of the franchise, and he even chose to go to film school at the University of Southern California because the creator of "Star Wars," George Lucas, went there. In many ways, his entire career has been leading up to this point.



You can see many traces of Johnson's filmography in "The Last Jedi" - risk-taking ("Brick"), lighthearted moments ("The Brothers Bloom"), and world-building ("Looper"). But it's his love of the "Star Wars" franchise and his drive to tell a story that builds on "The Force Awakens" with something new and challenging that shines through.

It's that newness that has divided "Star Wars" fans about "The Last Jedi." Though many appreciated a movie that didn't just feed off the hallmarks of the original trilogy, others have voiced their disappointment with Johnson for breaking fresh ground.

That's where we began our wide-ranging conversation with Johnson. The director also touched on not being distracted by fan expectations, the challenge of bringing Luke Skywalker back into the saga, why Captain Phasma isn't featured more prominently in the movie, and what he hopes to accomplish with the new "Star Wars" trilogy he's creating.

The following has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Jason Guerrasio: Like making any "Star Wars" movie, the director can't win. People complained that "The Force Awakens" was too much like the original trilogy. With your movie, the knock is it's nothing like the original trilogy. What are your thoughts when you hear that take?

Rian Johnson: Having been a "Star Wars" fan my whole life, and having spent most of my life on the other side of the curb and in that fandom, it softens the blow a little bit.



I'm aware through my own experience that, first of all, the fans are so passionate, they care so deeply - sometimes they care very violently at me on Twitter. But it's because they care about these things, and it hurts when you're expecting something specific and you don't get it from something that you love. It always hurts, so I don't take it personally if a fan reacts negatively and lashes out on me on Twitter. That's fine. It's my job to be there for that. Like you said, every fan has a list of stuff they want a "Star Wars" movie to be and they don't want a "Star Wars" movie to be. You're going to find very few fans out there whose lists line up.

And I also know the same way the original movies were personal for Lucas. Lucas never made a "Star Wars" movie by sitting down and thinking, "What do the fans want to see?" And I knew if I wrote wondering what the fans would want, as tempting as that is, it wouldn't work, because people would still be shouting at me, "F--- you, you ruined 'Star Wars,'" and I would make a bad movie. And ultimately, that's the one thing nobody wants.

And let me just add that 80-90% of the reaction I've gotten from Twitter has been really lovely. There's been a lot of joy and love from fans. When I talk about the negative stuff, that's not the full picture of the fans at all.

Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) raises his villain status in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi."Lucasfilm

Guerrasio: Even though the movie is the second part of a trilogy, it really feels like a standalone. Was that a goal of yours?

Johnson: Well, I wanted it to be a full meal. I wanted it to be a satisfying experience unto itself - because when you go into a theater, that's what you always want.

I did want to pick it up where the last one left off. I did want to do service to these characters in a way that felt consistent. And I wanted to leave it in a place where you felt you were excited for the potential of what could come next, and you're invested maybe a little more deeply in these characters and where they end up. In that way it is a middle chapter - it has to function like that.
Having been a "Star Wars" fan my whole life, and having spent most of my life on the other side of the curb and in that fandom, it softens the blow a little bit.
I'm aware through my own experience that, first of all, the fans are so passionate, they care so deeply - sometimes they care very violently at me on Twitter. But it's because they care about these things, and it hurts when you're expecting something specific and you don't get it from something that you love. It always hurts, so I don't take it personally if a fan reacts negatively and lashes out on me on Twitter. That's fine. It's my job to be there for that. Like you said, every fan has a list of stuff they want a "Star Wars" movie to be and they don't want a "Star Wars" movie to be. You're going to find very few fans out there whose lists line up.

And I also know the same way the original movies were personal for Lucas. Lucas never made a "Star Wars" movie by sitting down and thinking, "What do the fans want to see?" And I knew if I wrote wondering what the fans would want, as tempting as that is, it wouldn't work, because people would still be shouting at me, "F--- you, you ruined 'Star Wars,'" and I would make a bad movie. And ultimately, that's the one thing nobody wants.

And let me just add that 80-90% of the reaction I've gotten from Twitter has been really lovely. There's been a lot of joy and love from fans. When I talk about the negative stuff, that's not the full picture of the fans at all.
But you know, it's also a movie, and I wanted to give people a full "Star Wars" experience. I wanted to give them something where they come out of the theater and feel totally satisfied.
Guerrasio: Speaking for myself, the satisfaction is that you move the trilogy someplace beyond the hot takes fans had since "The Force Awakens." And you did that by making some very shocking choices on who we will no longer see beyond this movie, theoretically. Has it been fun waiting for this movie to come out knowing "The Last Jedi" is a very different movie than what fans expected? Or was it panic that maybe your take could miss the mark?

Johnson: [Laughs.] It's been a combination of both of those things. When I was writing the movie, I was doing it while they were shooting "The Force Awakens." So it wasn't like I was reading all these theories online and being at my typewriter and going "Ha! Ha! Gotcha!" It was me coming up with a story. I was writing purely from a personal reaction to the script of "The Force Awakens" and what they were shooting. Snoke, for example, I probably would have done the same thing regardless.

Guerrasio: Oh yeah?

Johnson: Yeah. Snoke's fate came entirely out of Kylo's arc and realizing that in this movie the most interesting thing to me was for Kylo to be ascendant - to start by knocking the shaky foundation out from Kylo's feet and then building him back up into a complicated but credible villain by the end of it. And one that Rey now has a more complex relationship with than just "I hate you, I want to kill you."

And once I kind of landed on that, it quickly became evident that, OK, what is Snoke's place in this? If I build Kylo up to that point, the most interesting thing to carry into the next movie is Kylo running things, not any echo of the emperor/pupil relationship. And you realize the dramatic potential of that, and it just makes a lot of sense from the story point of view.
Johnson: Yeah. It's something that, early in the process, the first thing I had to crack in the movie is why Luke is on that island. I had to figure out something that made sense, and you don't know much about where's Luke's head is at coming out of "The Force Awakens."

But what you do know is his friends are out fighting the good fight, and he's taken himself out of the equation. So for me growing up, I know Luke as a hero. I know that he must think he's doing the right thing by taking himself out of the equation, and that means he thinks the best thing for the galaxy is that he's not a part of this and, by extension, that the Jedi are not a part of this. So that leads you down a certain path.

Guerrasio: And how did you come to the realization that this would be the end of Skywalker?

Johnson: As I worked out that his arc was going to be coming to a place where he does this big heroic act that is going to be spread throughout the galaxy - basically taking back the mantle of Luke Skywalker, a Jedi master, a legend - it just slowly became clear to me that it would be this big grand act. It would be an act of mythmaking. And if there was ever going to be a place in this entire trilogy to give him this emotional moment of a goodbye, this was probably going to be the most emotionally potent place to do it.
Having been a "Star Wars" fan my whole life, and having spent most of my life on the other side of the curb and in that fandom, it softens the blow a little bit.
Johnson: Yes, exactly. But I also have to say I'm not writing the next one, and I'm not sure what J.J. [Abrams] and [screenwriter] Chris Terrio are going to do in the next one with Luke.

But setting up possibilities for the next one, honestly, it seems much like Obi-Wan going where he did after "New Hope." The possibilities seemed even more exciting in terms of what Luke's place could be in the next chapter with him entering into this other realm as opposed to him having a lightsaber and being with our heroes. It opened more possibilities as opposed to fewer.

I was holding my breath when I did it and I realized all these things, though I also thought, "S---."

Guerrasio: And how did Mark Hamill react to all of this?

Johnson: It wasn't the thing he wanted to necessarily hear. [Laughs.] Understandably so. Mark had all these years to think what Luke's triumphant return would be. Luke's the hero coming back into this story, and the fact that this character and this movie could not be that - this character in this movie was by necessity what he had to be, and also in relation to Rey, that brought its own necessity.

If he comes in as just an optimistic fighter for the good guys, that gives Rey nothing to bounce up against - that's just an older version of Rey. So it's not what Mark had in his head initially, and that's why he's spoken very openly about his being caught off guard by the script and where the character ends up. But I knew this is where it had to be. We got into the conversations, and we got into the work, and we talked, and we argued, and we discussed, and that process ended up being very good for the character and also for our working relationship. It was a very good one.
Guerrasio: Is the lack of Captain Phasma in the movie just simply that most of her scenes were left on the cutting room floor?

Johnson: There wasn't a ton of Phasma that we shot for this. The God's honest truth is, if you take a look at the movie, it's so full already. There are so many characters to serve already, and it's tough because Phasma really enters the movie when she needs to, and she does exactly what she needs to do in it. She's someone at the tail end of Finn's journey that represents his past for him to have this cathartic moment of being on the side of good and fighting her.

The notion of having a side plot of Phasma throughout the course of the film - look, I love Gwen [Christie]. I love Phasma. It would have been fun. But it just wasn't the story we were telling. There just wasn't a place for it. We already had quite a full plate to deal with in terms of all the other characters.

Guerrasio: So what you're saying is you've basically helped build the next Boba Fett-level fan-obsessed character for the "Star Wars" saga.Johnson: [Laughs.] Look, I'm bummed about it too. Absolutely. I wish we could have more Phasma. Just the truth of it is there wasn't room for her in this movie. She's so badass, I wish it was her story. But it isn't. Maybe there will be one eventually at some point.
Guerrasio: It sounds like you will direct the first movie of this trilogy and then go on and produce the other two.

Johnson: We'll see. I'm not sure yet.
Guerrasio: So what you're saying is you've basically helped build the next Boba Fett-level fan-obsessed character for the "Star Wars" saga.
Johnson: [Laughs.] Look, I'm bummed about it too. Absolutely. I wish we could have more Phasma. Just the truth of it is there wasn't room for her in this movie. She's so badass, I wish it was her story. But it isn't. Maybe there will be one eventually at some point.
Guerrasio: It sounds like you will direct the first movie of this trilogy and then go on and produce the other two.

Johnson: We'll see. I'm not sure yet.
Guerrasio: But if that holds, would you push to have a female director do at least one of those movies? Is that important to you?

Johnson: Hell yeah. I think that would be fantastic. Again, I don't know how it's going to go. I'm going to write and direct the first one and tell the story for the rest of them. But yeah, there are so many talented female directors that I would love to see do one of these movies. Look, I hope it happens in a "Star Wars" movie even before that! Going forward, that's something I would absolutely love to see.

Guerrasio: Give me the one scene/shot in "The Last Jedi" that, regardless of how many times you've seen it, you are pretty impressed that you pulled it off.

Johnson: [Laughs.] It was an early image that I had. I really love that slow-motion shot of Kylo and Rey back-to-back with the guards coming from all the sides in Snoke's chambers. And look, there were a lot of people whose work went into it to design the space and the guards, the stunt work, but that was a moment that I had just always held dear to me, and it's one of those very rare things where the realization of it on screen I just feel like, "Ah, we got it!" It makes me happy.

 

[lamekilla]

The irony of Rian Johnson saying nobody wants a bad Star Wars movie.

 

[KingdomFlatbush]

I love the "aw man, yeah I wish we could have done more with Phasma" answer

 

[wuchi01]

Of course this is 100% rumor with no evidence - take it with a tablespoon of salt, but according to this Disney is expecting Solo to bomb

http://www.screengeek.net/2017/12/24/disney-expects-solo-a-star-wars-story-to-bomb/

Could have been really creative with a Bounty Hunters, Lando, Imperial or Old Republic standalone film. Forget Obi and Solo. But hearing Solo teaser very soon.

And thinking JJ Abrams is going to "fix" story arc in Episode 9 prob misplaced hope. Thought old George had better story flow after watching those 2 vids.

 

[CP1708]

Rian explains every reason for what he did perfectly fine. There is no need for Phasma, she's just a cool lookin Stormtrooper.
He explains the Snoke death.
How/why ach character develops as they do.

And Disney loved the script even as The Force Awakens was still being filmed, meaning they didn't care or worry about fan theories or lineage guesses or any of that.

Yet some of you feel you have the true inside info nailed down. Expectations you had unrealized and now you're all pouting and lashing out.

 

[Master Zik]

Rian explains every reason for what he did perfectly fine. There is no need for Phasma, she's just a cool lookin Stormtrooper.

This reasoning is so insulting to the viewer.

No need for Phasma? Why create the ******* character?

I mean damn apply that reasoning to Boba Fett.

Better off introducing evil droid murder bots like they've done in the comics.

 

[tay1]

Yeah I thought that character was gonna be important down the line. They gave her that vibe and aura

 

[CP1708]

This reasoning is so insulting to the viewer.

No need for Phasma? Why create the ****ing character?

I mean damn apply that reasoning to Boba Fett.

Better off introducing evil droid murder bots like they've done in the comics.

Was Boba not tossed away in the OT?

In fact, while we're here, those bombs "dropped" without gravity that everyone *****es about.......weren't they "droppin" mines and probes in Empire?

Yes they were.

But no one goes back at those films now do they?

Phasma can be a cool, tiny piece of a larger story and not be needed for all 3 films. It's no diff than Fett, Jabba, Maul, Dokuu, Grievous, but it's some crime now.

 

[lamekilla]

Rian explains every reason for what he did perfectly fine. There is no need for Phasma, she's just a cool lookin Stormtrooper.
He explains the Snoke death.
How/why ach character develops as they do.

And Disney loved the script even as The Force Awakens was still being filmed, meaning they didn't care or worry about fan theories or lineage guesses or any of that.

Yet some of you feel you have the true inside info nailed down. Expectations you had unrealized and now you're all pouting and lashing out.

Disney has no idea what they are doing with Star Wars so of course they loved his vision on paper. It came off as edgy and refreshing but the delivery was horrible and the fan backlash is growing by the day. You think Disney isn’t taking notice?

 

[Based Jesus]

**** Disney

 

[nawghtyhare]

haven't seen it yet
was it trash
or nah???

 

[northoaklandfc]

haven't seen it yet
was it trash
or nah???

Highly enjoyable experience but also a film and story with serious flaws imo.

Watch out though, anything less than unadulterated praise will have these fan boys trying to convince you that you don't "understand" it.

 

[Nike Jordan]

Just give the keys to Dave Filoni.

 

[6 Rings G.O.A.T.]

 

[wuchi01]

 

[kdawg]

My son has us watching the Holiday Special.

I’m enjoying it in a strange way...

 

[moderndarwin]

I think what is dissapointing to people is that clearly both the originals and the prequels had a lot of serious flaws when we watch them now. Not really that great compared to a lot of other movies out there.

However, the spark of hope was that we have some amazing blueprints for this sort of story - The Avengers, Harry Potter, Batman Trilogy, and even some of the recent Star Trek movies.

There is no reason for Star Wars to come out as anything less than a 10/10 movie. Watching Twilight mixed with the Golden Girls was not it. It made sense from a pure money grab perspective...but this is not the movie we wanted. Rogue One actually was the best movie by a large margin. It’s only problem is that it’s less related to Jedi and Sith and it’s related to the rest. The power, ferocity, and feel of tha Vader scene is what the entire Star Wars galaxy is about. We wanted someone evil that could truly inspire some level of fear. Without a build up there is no fear.

And the sad thing is there is the 18 min animated video clip from the Old Republic video game that is amazingly good. It is EXACTLY what most of us were hoping to see these movies done as.

 

[isco]

edit

 

[KingdomFlatbush]

Highly enjoyable experience but also a film and story with serious flaws imo.

Watch out though, anything less than unadulterated praise will have these fan boys trying to convince you that you don't "understand" it.

Word.

Breathtaking experience in IMAX. Amazing score, performances, effects, space battles, and aesthetic direction

Trash plot and trash characterization

Oh and I've seen posts on Reddit that state because I hated certain parts of the movie (such as Canto Bight) I don't "understand the language of cinema"

Rogue One is an infinitely superior movie and can currently be enjoyed on Netflix.

 

[abubakr shaheed]

I think what is dissapointing to people is that clearly both the originals and the prequels had a lot of serious flaws when we watch them now. Not really that great compared to a lot of other movies out there.

However, the spark of hope was that we have some amazing blueprints for this sort of story - The Avengers, Harry Potter, Batman Trilogy, and even some of the recent Star Trek movies.

There is no reason for Star Wars to come out as anything less than a 10/10 movie. Watching Twilight mixed with the Golden Girls was not it. It made sense from a pure money grab perspective...but this is not the movie we wanted. Rogue One actually was the best movie by a large margin. It’s only problem is that it’s less related to Jedi and Sith and it’s related to the rest. The power, ferocity, and feel of tha Vader scene is what the entire Star Wars galaxy is about. We wanted someone evil that could truly inspire some level of fear. Without a build up there is no fear.

And the sad thing is there is the 18 min animated video clip from the Old Republic video game that is amazingly good. It is EXACTLY what most of us were hoping to see these movies done as.

That video was dope. Are the Star Wars animated series any good?

 

[Mark Antony]

I expected Solo would be bad anyways from the studio tampering and other **** coming out of that production.