Because The Last Jedi is, on paper, the middle chapter in Lucasfilm’s current Star Wars trilogy, writer-director Rian Johnson made a point of challenging his characters – both the old, and the new.
From the world-weary Luke Skywalker to Poe Dameron, the trigger-happy Resistance pilot with more brains than sense, Johnson’s space-faring adventure was a ballsy expansion of the Skywalker Saga, even if a vocal minority said otherwise.
You see, though the critical consensus deemed The Last Jedi to be a meticulously crafted sequel that helped accelerate Lucasfilm’s franchise toward a bright future, one in which the galaxy’s fate now rests on the shoulders of Rey, not Luke, the fans said otherwise. With Luke Skywalker ostensibly out of the picture – barring a ghostly cameo in Episode IX – a fair amount of viewers rallied against Disney and, in particular, Rian Johnson for “ruining” the franchise.
Of course, with J.J. Abrams now stepping in to complete the trilogy, many are wondering how he’ll be adjusting his plans – if at all – after the backlash that plagued The Last Jedi. While you’d assume that what the fans are saying might have at least some impact on how the director/writer plans to proceed, it turns out that’s not the case at all.
When asked by IndieWire if he’d be switching anything up after seeing all the criticisms levelled at The Last Jedi, he said “not in the least,” before continuing to tease us with what’s to come:
“There’s a lot that I would like to say about it, but I feel like it’s a little early to be having the Episode IX conversation … I will say that the story of Rey and Poe and Finn and Kylo Ren — and if you look, there are three men and one woman, to those that are complaining that there are too many women in Star Wars — their story continues in a way that I couldn’t be more excited about and cannot wait for people to see.”
Having taken over the reins from Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World), who broke ties with Lucasfilm over creative differences, Abrams is clearly hard at work crafting the next installment in the Skywalker Saga, and though he is keeping things vague here, we’re certainly excited to see what he’s got planned for the pic.
It’s one that will reportedly feature Luke Skywalker as a Force ghost, while there have also been rumblings of a potential second coming for Supreme Leader Snoke, who was brutally cut down in the midst of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Stay tuned for more on that front, including Episode IX‘s supposed ties to the prequel trilogy.
Beyond Solo, J.J. Abrams plans to share Star Wars: Episode IX with the world on December 20th, 2019. He’s leveraging script duties with Chris Terrio, too, who was recently a part of Warner’s ill-fated Justice League.
