MovieChat Forums > Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017) Discussion > one thing that bugs me when I read artic...

one thing that bugs me when I read articles about the new trilogy


And granted, to start, I'm not hating, I'm very excited and will still likely see it a few times in theater.

But I was reading an article about it in the new Entertainment Weekly, where they were talking about the writing process, and mentioned how from The Force Awakens, they only had tidbits of Luke's history between trilogies, and now they had to "figure out" why he banished himself.

This bugs me because it suggests they're figuring it out as they go along, and things put in place in Episode VII weren't fully planned out, and sort of just left for the crew of the next movie to figure out. Makes it seem/feel like some things in Episode VII just aren't important as they're portrayed to be. Kind of a case of I feel like they shouldn't have started shooting Episode VII until the script for Episode IX was also finished. Of course they'd dislike that because that only means more time for leaks and hacks to happen.

Say what you will about George Lucas, but he at least had an idea for the whole original trilogy, and had the prequel trilogy pretty well mapped out how he wanted.

reply

Could not agree more! Like yourself...not hating at all. Been a fan since day one and have always managed to find enjoyment in the offering provided. Also not a JJ hater...thought he did a fantastic job on awakens. I never had the it's a new hope rehash dilemma ,as I am more of a trope observer than a plot comparer. ( hey that's not a real word!) ANewHope,and the original trilogy as a whole follows a very strict fairytale trope...peasant/farmer(chosen one...just always turns out that way) meets-wizard/Mage - to embark on a mission. They enlist the help of a-rogue/pirate/overall scoundrel in hopes of rescuing a-princess, who is being held captive by a-dark lord/knight. A longtime ago in a galaxy far far away is the space age equivalent to once upon a time and the end of both ANH and ROTJ is basically a screenshot of ...and they all lived happily ever after! None of these were actually used in Awaken...scavenger loner is more reminiscent of the rogue than farmer, rogue has become venerable military leader in self imposed exile,wizard is a no show 'til the last minute of the story, there is no princess in peril and the dark knight is a millennial. It even ends with a literal cliff hanger!
So if this is a rehash I must ask...why don't any of these tropes match up???

Sorry if that was a bit windy,but it brings me back to your original concerns. Since I never had the rehash issues I was able to view the film with a more open mind. What I found was worse than a rehash...it was in fact a two hour lead in to...what? The lineage of the main character? Origins of the new antagonists?demise of the Jedi? All of the above or none of the above? Who knows...JJ? I hope not as the fellow has a pretty bad track record with ongoing story lines going off the rails...LOST comes to mind. I too have my doubts with an open ended high budget trilogy. It would seem prudent to have a story overview to go with...you know...like George sold them.

reply

Even if his ideas were not used or were used in some respect,his synopsis probably should have clued someone into recognizing the need for story structure. Instead I feel, like yourself,that this thing is getting made up as it goes. Now stories like the one you sited are seeming to confirm these worries.
Maybe a new trailer will put my mind at ease a bit!!!

reply

Completely agree. I read that article and literally tossed my magazine on the ground when I read "we had to figure out what Luke was doing on that island" when the new director took over. Abrams and co had no plan when they completed the first one (or if they did, they didn't bother to share it with the new makers), which is just so disappointing for a franchise that always intended to return with three movies.

I truly don't understand how you could go about creating a trilogy and decide to only layout the story for the first movie. The whole article made me so much less excited for what's to come.

reply

...and the shit show continues into the trilogy...Colin Trevorrow exits directorial duties for episode 9...WTF???

reply

and don't forget 2 directors were fired from the Han movie and now Opie is directing it.

reply

From what I'd read before and after Force Awakens, there was an overall story for the trilogy planned in advance of writing the TFA script. That outline might just include a few major basics without any real plot details, that way the writers and directors can have a lot of room to create their own movies while still working toward the overall goal.

I mean you can summarize the core concept of Terminator 2 like this: Two machines get sent from the future, one to kill John Conner and a reprogrammed one to protect him. Make sure Sarah gets involved, and work in a guy at a robotics company who is using the remains of the terminator from the first movie. In the end, both terminators need to be destroyed.

That's ONLY Terminator 2, and I actually made it very specific, but yet just LOOK at how much leeway there is to create a plot. I only wrote three sentences, beyond that could be anything. That outline could create a hundred wildly different versions of T2 when put into the hands of a hundred different writers/directors.

These details aren't part of my outline: Where is John, what's he doing? Where is Sarah, why is she where she is? These things can be changed in many different ways while still matching the outline I wrote down. John and Sarah could be on the run together, for example. She could be training him. Or they could have a normal suburban life, trying to forget the past.

That outline could also easily create a good or bad movie. As you can see, the distance between the basic concept and a finished product is a vast distance.

Lucas also made up the original trilogy as he went along, despite the claims you'll hear. His outline was quite basic and it changed constantly. WHEN HE MADE STAR WARS, DARTH VADER WAS A WARLORD WHO HAD KILLED LUKE'S FATHER. That was the story and it was how the first Star Wars was written (before it was ever called A New Hope, a change made after the movie came out). Lucas created the family dynamic for Empire.

reply

P.S. plenty of clues in Star Wars that Vader was not originally Luke's father. One example off the top of my head: Obi-Wan gives Luke his Dad's lightsaber and says "Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough." When that was written, it was meant to be true.

This is an example of why Obi-Wan had to explain away his "lies" about Luke's father in Empire Strikes Back, with his "certain point of view" speech. If you watch A New Hope with this fact in mind, you'll see how obvious it is that Vader was TRULY written to be the killer of Luke's father, and that the original plan was for Luke to avenge him.

reply