Say what you will about the “Star Wars” Sequel Trilogy, it’s hard to deny the three most recent Skywalker Saga films suffered from the lack of planning. No matter if you think Rian Johnson destroyed everything you loved about the galaxy far, far away in ‘The Last Jedi,’ or if you think JJ Abrams botched the ending in ‘Rise of Skywalker,’ the fact that Lucasfilm clearly didn’t have a story already mapped out led to some truly baffling creative choices. And in a new interview with Collider, Abrams talks about the creative hand-off between himself and Johnson over the course of three films and why he thinks it’s crucial to have an overall plan when mapping out a story.
For those unaware, when Disney purchased Lucasfilm and announced that a new trilogy of “Star Wars” films would be happening, many assumed that the studio had the entire thing planned out. Kathleen Kennedy and the Lucasfilm executives wouldn’t possibly wing it when creating billion-dollar films, right? Well, it was clear when ‘The Force Awakens’ was followed by ‘The Last Jedi’ that the tonal and structural continuity that many expect from franchises wasn’t there. In fact, stories that were set up in ‘Force Awakens’ were completely written off in ‘Last Jedi,’ much to the chagrin of some fans. Then, when Abrams returned for ‘Rise of Skywalker,’ the patchwork nature of the franchise was even more apparent with a final film that felt like it was narratively held together by duct tape.
All that to say, hearing Abrams talk about the situation, the idea of planning out a trilogy of films well before you begin work on them is something he feels very passionate about now.
“I feel like what I’ve learned as a lesson a few times now, and it’s something that especially in this pandemic year working with writers [has become clear], the lesson is that you have to plan things as best you can, and you always need to be able to respond to the unexpected,” explained Abrams. “And the unexpected can come in all sorts of forms, and I do think that there’s nothing more important than knowing where you’re going.”
He added, “You just never really know, but having a plan I have learned – in some cases the hard way – is the most critical thing because otherwise you don’t know what you’re setting up. You don’t know what to emphasize. Because if you don’t know the inevitable of the story, you’re just as good as your last sequence or effect or joke or whatever, but you want to be leading to something inevitable.”
Obviously, there’s more to the situation regarding the “Star Wars” films than just laying blame on JJ Abrams and Rian Johnson. Kathleen Kennedy is the head of the studio and has to shoulder some of that blame, as well as the fact that Lucasfilm/Disney became so beholden to release dates that the filmmakers were seemingly rushed into making story decisions that, in hindsight, just don’t work.
Alas, what’s done is done, and lessons have been learned.