Were there any big decisions that the story group and Kathleen Kennedy sort of stopped in their tracks and had to take a deep breath and think over?
Rian: I mean, we thought about all of it extensively and talked about them and talked them through. There was nothing that got nixed because we were afraid that it was something that people wouldn’t be expecting. There was nothing nixed out of fear which makes the process very Jedi-like and good. We never acted out of fear when breaking this story.
Mark Hamill obviously has a strong feeling of ownership over Luke Skywalker, as he should. He’s talked about his uneasy reaction when he first got the script. How did you see it?
Rian: Yeah, he’s definitely open about how the story didn’t necessarily line up with what he expected and that itself is to be expected. And for Mark, this character has been part of his life for the past forty years and he’s had a lot of time to think about what Luke Skywalker’s return would be. So there’s no way what I wrote was going to align with what with what he expected by the very nature that I’m not him. And it led to a very good process between the two of us. It led to me having to explain to him these choices and how I got to where I did and why. Given the set up in ‘The Force Awakens,’ [Luke’s exile] was really the only option for where his head is at and this is the most interesting journey for him to go on, and here’s why Luke is not going to be the swashbuckling hero jumping back into this story, but here’s why that’s going to be much more interesting and going to serve Rey’s story better. So, it was a long process of arguing and talking and becoming closer throughout the whole process. It ended up being a really strong relationship.
Was Mark reading early drafts?
Rian: No, he read a draft where I had gotten it to the place where I thought that it was largely finished and at least presentable before I showed it to him.
It does feel like the most logical place for Luke to arrive. Was there meeting with J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan about where you wanted to take things?
Rian: No, not really. It was kind of a baton handoff between us. Before I started writing I had a meeting with J.J. and it was very general and I talked to him about some of his intentions with ‘The Force Awakens.’ And then after I’d got a pitch together I sat down and talked J.J. through it and he was excited, but there wasn’t a lot of active involvement in terms of the story developing between us.
You’d think there’d be a larger arc for the trilogy, in the same way I think George Lucas knew what he wanted to do with the entire thing, for the most part.
Rian: Right. Just like now, there’s little interaction between me and J.J. and Chris Terrio as they’re writing ‘Episode IX.’ It is much more of a relay race in that way.
So, when Colin Trevorrow left ‘Episode IX’ did you ever have a conversation where you spoke to Lucasfilm about taking on that film?
Rian: No, no, it was never in the cards. It was never in my headspace, and we were busy finishing up ‘Last Jedi’ and I think the very good decision was made to bring back J.J. It was never really in the cards for us.
You guys are developing this new trilogy together, what’s that process going to be? Are you coming up with story together?
Ram: Rian’s going to come up with it.
Rian: Yeah, right now it’s an open blue canvas so I’m just starting to put things together. Clouds of ideas are starting to form, but the entire pitch and what’s exciting about things right now was just a new story told over three stories that is a new “Star Wars” story. And it takes places in some new places, we meet some new people, but it still feels like everything that’s great about “Star Wars.” And the unlimited potential of that seems really, really exciting.
Some of ‘Last Jedi’ feels like it’s written with the approach of “Here are some of the new things I want to see” and I assume that’s a similar approach you’ll take for the new trilogy.
Rian: Yeah, but I mean, you’re always trying to… obviously, you’re making a new film and you want it to have some new elements that are exciting to it because that’s what George Lucas did with each one of the original movies, even the prequels. And you’re always trying to do that simply to keep it fresh and exciting. For me, it all starts with the story, that’s the first thing that I’m trying to land on right now: what is the story of this new one going to be? What is the big epic, grand tale that we’re going to tell? That’s what’s really exciting for me.
You’re writing and directing the first one, but will you hand it off the other films but still take ownership over how subsequent films are developed?
Rian: I actually no idea yet. I know I’m going to write and direct the first one and come up with the entire idea for the trilogy, but beyond that it’s too early to tell. We’re still figuring out how it’s going to happen.
So, writing the entire trilogy story — that’s not daunting or anything.
Rian: [Laughs] Yeah, but it’s exciting. I don’t know if I feel it like a weight. It’s boundlessly exciting, the possibilities of that. I can’t wait to jump into it.
Is there a timeline for when these films will hit theaters? I think the next slot would be around 2021, but who knows, it could come sooner, right?
Rian: Well, there will be a mandate [of a release date] and there will be a slot, but we haven’t worked that out yet.
Ram: We’re going to figure that out with Lucasfilm in the beginning of the new year.
I assume in doing all of this you had to shelve some original projects.
Rian: There were a couple of them for sure, but that’s the other element of this. Because we don’t know timeline wise how it’s all going to work out, I would still love to be able to sneak some of those movies in there. I have a couple of really specific smaller movies that I have really well formed at this point that I would love to make. I’m kind of ready to go. I don’t want to not make them for ten years, so I want to figure out a way to slip them in.
Ram, are you a big “Star Wars” fan like Rian is?
Ram: I was a big “Star Wars” fan, but not like Rian. I grew up in Israel and when I watched the movie for the first time it was big, but the impact was like nothing as big as it is here [in the United States]. We didn’t really have much of the toys, so you couldn’t really continue to play with it.
