Lucasfilm‘s HR department has been pretty busy this summer. Between Phil Lord and Chris Miller exiting the Han Solo spinoff earlier this year over creative differences, while the movie was in the production no less, and Colin Trevorrow removing himself from “Star Wars: Episode IX” for reportedly similar reasons, the keepers of the franchise haven’t come off looking so good. In fairness, there’s no doubt that Kathleen Kennedy’s primary job is to protect the value of the brand at all costs, but it does make you wonder why you’d hire young filmmakers with bold new cinematic voices in the first place, only to mute that talent. Well, it’s certainly something that a director watching from the sidelines has some questions about.
READ MORE: J.J. Abrams Will Return To Direct ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’
Collider recently caught up with John Landis, and the director rather awkwardly dragged Lucasfilm into his response when asked if he had any movies in the works. Essentially, he compared the lack of risk-taking at Lucasfilm with the rest of the industry as a whole.
“I have many things that I’m working on, whether or not they’ll ever become real, I don’t know. You know, Joe Dante and myself and a few other guys I know are in the same position. They’re not hiring people who have opinions,” Landis said.” They think, ‘He knows what he’s doing, I’m not hiring him!’ Look at ‘Star Wars.’ They keep firing guys. Phil Lord and Chris Miller, those guys are really talented. They’re really funny and original guys. They shot 75% of the movie and I gotta tell you, it doesn’t speak well for the new Lucasfilm. How many directors have they fired? Four. How many writers? Twelve.”
“It’s very worrying. Remember when George Lucas said that he felt like he sold his kids into white slavery? Well…,” he added.
READ MORE: Taika Waititi Throws Playful Shade At Lucasfilm’s Director Drama
In case you forget, almost two years ago, Lucas called Disney “white slavers” when referring to their purchase of Lucasfilm, only to quickly (and wisely) roll back those comments. I’m not sure it’s a great idea to dredge up that comparison again, but it does illustrate how little Landis regards the regime at Lucasfilm at the moment.
Thoughts? Hit up the comments section.