The news is that Rian Johnson will be directing and writing Star Wars Episode VIII, and possibly IX. The response from the very
passionate Star Wars fan base has
been positive since this news leaked yesterday and for the most part I also am
on board with this idea.
I doesn’t come as a surprise to me because I was always
under the impression that J.J Abrams would only reintroduce Star Wars with Episode VII. For me at least I like the idea of the series being
shared with several filmmakers because really that was Lucas’ initial reason
for selling the rights to Disney in the first place.
With Episode VIII being the second act of the new trilogy’s
story I think that for it to succeed as The
Empire Strikes Back did it needs to
be a darkest story where the characters are at their lowest points. Rian
Johnson is a good choice for that as it should be a character driven film
similar to Empire and indeed similar
to his previous films: Brick and Looper.
I don’t think he should direct Episode IX though and here’s my reasoning. The original Star Wars trilogy had three different
directors and that was the main reason each film felt fresh. I personally hope
someone with experience with high concept stories should come in and direct the
third film because that’s the climax of the story where everything is at stake.
Again, similar to what was done with the original trilogy and how Return of the Jedi was dealt with.
I think Rian Johnson is a good choice for second film in the
trilogy I’m just hoping that him directing the third as well is merely
speculation at this point.
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