Summary
Star Warsmovies have hit their highs and lows over the past four decades with many filmmakers bringing their unique take on the galaxy far, far away, to varying results. Now that anotherStar Warstrilogy is confirmed to be in development, it looks like Disney is hoping to address one key criticism about recentStar Warsfilms.
TheStar Warsfranchise has received many criticisms over the years. Many disliked George Lucas’ prequel trilogy due to its wooden dialogue and disinteresting storylines. However, the films gained points for their visual effects which was revolutionary at the time. When Disney acquired Lucasfilm the studio wasted no time in commissioning a new trilogy ofStar Warsfilms that would serve as a sequel to the existing six installments but, whileStar Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakensrenewed some hopein the franchise, it didn’t last.
Disney’s plan for the sequel trilogy began by attaching three directors to the new films; J.J. Abrams, Rian Johnson, and Colin Trevorrow. While Abrams and Johnson completed their films in the trilogy (The Force AwakensandThe Last Jedi), Trevorrow turned in a draft of his third film, then titledEpisode IX: Duel of the Fates, but eventually left the project in 2017 afterLucasfilm was allegedly unhappywith the script. This led to Abrams re-boarding theStar Warstrilogy for the ninth film, bringing a script he wrote with Chris Terrio that becameThe Rise of Skywalker. However, the film was very polarizing among fans.
Among the criticisms was the fact thatThe Rise of Skywalkerdidn’t seem to align with the story set up inThe Force AwakensandThe Last Jediandit retconned many of the elementsthat had been introduced in the prior two films. One example of this was the identity of Rey, who had been persistently told she was “no one” throughout the first two films, suggesting that she may not be tied to the lineage of one of the legacy Star Wars characters. Many audiences welcomed this idea as it made Rey a powerful Jedi without relying on a connection to the Skywalker bloodline. However, inThe Rise of Skywalker, this arc was altered, and it was revealed that Rey was a descendant of Emperor Palpatine, which effectively rendered her character arc up until that point redundant. This is just one of a few story issues fans had with the wayThe Rise of Skywalkerended the sequel trilogy, and many put these problems down to a lack of a coherent vision for the sequel trilogy.
Among the criticisms was the fact thatThe Rise of Skywalkerdidn’t seem to align with the story set up inThe Force AwakensandThe Last Jedi.
The New Star Wars Trilogy Has One Key Creative
In the past week, Lucasfilm announced the development ofanother newStar WarstrilogywithX-Mencreative Simon Kinberg attached to write and produce all three films. It’s unclear what period or story Kinberg’s movies will explore, but a promising sign for this trilogy is that it has one key creative attached to oversee the arc across three films.
With directors dropping in and out and scripts being altered after each release, it felt like theStar Warssequel trilogy was being put together in pieces, rather than following a solid plan that was laid out from the beginning. This could be seen as the result of too many creative visionaries getting involved. While George Lucas did not direct all the originalStar Warsfilms, he was involved heavily as a writer or in the story department on each of them. He also helmed all three of the prequel films which, while not perfect, did feel somewhat more narratively coherent than the sequel trilogy. In comparison, each of theStar Warssequels had different writers and directors attached throughout their development, and it’s possible they may not have had much say in each other’s stories, so there’s something to be said about having one key storyteller to oversee all the films.
Will Simon Kinberg’s Star Wars Trilogy Make It to the Screen?
While it’s too early to say how Kinberg’sStar Warstrilogy will play out, the fact that Lucasfilm has appointed one creative for the whole trilogy is a promising sign the studio plans to address some of these past issues. That being said, Lucasfilm has greenlitStar Warstrilogies in this manner in the past, and plenty of them have fallen by the wayside. AfterThe Last Jedi, Rian Johnson was in negotiations to write and directhis own trilogy ofStar Warsmovies, although nothing has ever transpired. Similarly,Game of Thronescreators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss had aStar Warstrilogy in development that never transpired.
With manyStar Warsfilms never making it past preliminary development, it’s difficult to say whether Kinberg’s trilogy will fare any differently. If it does make it to the screen, it will be interesting to see whether a single creative vision across three films will be any more successful than theStar Warssequel trilogy.
