The Last Jedi Is A Hard Act To Follow
We’re all aware that the Star Wars universe isn’t ending with the next installment, but finishing some forty years’ worth of Skywalker stories is going to take some doing in Episode IX. Think about it: the majority of Star Wars movies end on a pretty large scale battle. Is it possible to manufacture a big finale when both the First Order and the Rebellion have been decimated by The Last Jedi’s end? And how would you go about bolstering both factions in Episode IX? A time lapse of several months or years may assist in this, sure. Yet, giving both sides some soldiers to instantly recruit may inadvertently make the huge losses of The Last Jedi feel inconsequential.
On the other hand, Lucasfilm may choose to subvert our battle expectations as they did with Johnson’s pic. They may choose to focus solely on the struggle between Rey and Kylo Ren and downplay the capabilities of the First Order and the Rebellion. That would be a huge risk in such a pivotal movie, though.
And then there’s another gargantuan task to consider: sending off Leia Organa. After the sad passing of Carrie Fisher, the minds behind Episode IX will have to handle the loss of a hugely iconic character after The Last Jedi sidestepped it.
With all of this to juggle, it’s no wonder that Colin Trevorrow and Jack Thorne reportedly struggled with the script for the movie. Whichever way you slice it, the new writers will have to go through a considerable amount of narrative gymnastics to fittingly end this trilogy. And speaking of the writers…