Was there ever a time before “Star Wars” controversies? One of the challenges of modern filmmaking, of course, is that every behind-the-scenes decision becomes a minor news cycle. In a world where stories are broken in minutes and rehashed for days, the firing of a director like Colin Trevorrow or the release of unattributed comments about reshoots is more than enough fodder to drive the perception – and, subsequently, the narrative – that Disney and Lucasfilm are struggling to map out a cohesive story.
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To hear Kathleen Kennedy describe the process behind “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” though, is to understand that flexibility is part of the design. In a wide-ranging interview with iO9, Kennedy and producer Michelle Rejwan talk openly about the need to leave some parts of the “Star Wars” universe underdeveloped. “I like to look at the first three movies that George did where he had different directors,” Kennedy offered by way of explanation. “He was really serving as the producing role in that. And we were doing a similar kind of thing, which is identifying genre and really allowing a filmmaker, and in the case of J.J. [Abrams] and Rian [Johnson], huge ‘Star Wars’ fans, and allowing them to get immersed, to find the center of the story and then make it their own.”
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Kennedy even goes on to say that this collaborative approach means that nothing in the “Star Wars” universe can ever be fully mapped out ahead of time. “I don’t think anything’s ever ‘cemented’ with ‘Star Wars,’ she explained. “It can’t be. It’s so rich with possibility that you don’t want to reach a point where you think you’ve made a decision, and then not leave yourself open to exploring other possibilities and other considerations.”
If this makes it sound like the power is in the hands of the filmmakers to provide the elements of the story, the answer is both yes and no. Kennedy takes her role as the curator of the “Star Wars” universe very seriously, but the very notion of curation implies less an authoritative voice than a presenter of options. “I’ve heard people say sometimes, ‘Well, isn’t that just a committee approach?’ And it’s not,” she tells iO9 in the interview. “I’ve worked as a producer in film my entire career. And I always consider myself a voice in the room. But it’s not my ultimate decision. It’s the decision of the director, ultimately. And your job is to serve up as many curated possibilities that they can choose from, work with, see if it’s going to fit in the mosaic of storytelling and then arrive at a point of view to move forward.”
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The whole interview is certainly worth reading – Kennedy has some fascinating perspectives on the interplay between storytelling and blockbuster filmmaking – and it certainly seems that Disney and Kennedy are trying to satisfy many, many different audiences simultaneously. It may not be a perfect system, but this interview will hopefully put to bed some of the more uninformed perspectives about the creative process behind “Star Wars.”
