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Anakin may have been the Chosen One ( or is he ) in theStar Warsmovies , but when it comes to making the films themselves , J.J. Abrams is the one to bring balance to the Force .
Just under a week after Colin Trevorrow departedStar Wars Episode 9 in the viewing of the all - out failure ofThe Book of Henryandreports of clashes with Lucasfilm , a replacement has been found in the very familiar bod of the Mystery Boxes purveyor . Abrams already rebootedStar Warswith the strength of over 1,000 ships with more firepower than we ’d ever realize , and now he ’s doing two-fold obligation not only finishing off the trilogy he started , but aim to steady the paradigm of Lucasfilm in the wake of repeated theater director issues .
It ’s an revelatory move for Lucasfilm . Abrams is now the only somebody besides George Lucas to direct more than oneStar Warsmovie , and as someone whose grownup screen career is delimitate by Spielberg may prove the near to the right answer of whatStar Wars(the nub of Lucasfilms ' recurring problems ) . Although , at least as how some people narrate it , there was almost another .
So yeah , what about Rian Johnson ? The valet behind the sequel trilogy ’s center entry is , without a hint of exaggeration , the most in honey withStar Wars . The Last Jedisounds to have been the bland journeying to the screen in the enfranchisement possibly ever and the director has been gush in his excitement of working with Lucasfilm - and they by all accounts love exploit with him . He ’d be the consummate pick to give back to a future task , so unsurprisingly not only top out many fan ' list ofpotential Trevorrow replacementsbut wasrumored to be in talks with the studio . So why is n’t he doingEpisode IX ?
Did Rian Johnson Actually Turn Episode IX Down?
Deadlinereported in their story on Abrams being close to closing a deal - one that erupt mere minutes beforeLucasfilm ’s official announcement- that Johnson had already ferment down the opportunity to directStar Wars 9 . This would seem to be a curve - and - juiceless vitrine , but we do n’t live what info the publication is work with .
A day or so before , Johnson appeared at a promotional case in Japan anddiscussed the possibility of a recurrence . The translations earlier intimate he was rule himself out , but further investigating led to the discovery the most he ’d said was he was " totally focused " onThe Last Jedi ; in forgetful , he was n’t commiting to anything . It ’s extremely potential thatDeadline ’s composition is using this as shorthand , take a misreported former story as context ; this would n’t be the first time in recent week that a trade has made such a slip - up - seeTHRdeclaring The Batman as non - DCEU- and the presentation definitely does n’t suggest they were treat the Johnson refusal as new info . As it stands there ’s actually no exculpated confirmation he was offered the position .
Could Rian Johnson Even Have Made Star Wars 9?
That Japan quote could still be revealing , just not in the wayDeadlinetook it . There ’s been a strange trait of the word around who could replace Trevorrow , namely that many of the large name summons are totally unsuitable . Not that they ’d be bad selection per se ( although given how Messrs Lord and Miller failed they may not to the full accommodate the brand ) but that they much ca n’t engineer the moving-picture show .
Star Wars 9is set tostart filming in other 2018 , in keeping with all four of the old Disney - era productions , which intend you have to have a director available from , at latest , January next year . However , to avoid aHobbit - level want of pre - production you kind of want to lock someonenow . This find out so many of the big names who at a glance could get a film out by 2019 but would miss the showtime date : Ava DuVernay ( A Wrinkle in Time , March 2018 ) ; Steven Spielberg ( Ready Player One , March 2018 ) , Ryan Coogler ( Black Panther , February 2018 ) ; Ron Howard ( Han Solo , May 2018 ) . Allowing for a month sheathing for forwarding and a little rest , and they ’re far too hectic to maltreat on . Even people like Taika Waitti ( who has rule himself out ) and Joss Whedon , who wrap their next motion-picture show later this class , could be too late to get involved .
And Rian Johnson is decent there in the center of this . He ’s " entirely focused " onThe Last Jedi , which arrives in December 2017 , meaning he ’d be straight into directingEpisode IXonce the press tour was done . Obviously he is in the phratry and involved in plotting out the hereafter of the franchise - andpresumably hasEpisode VIIIpretty much in the can now- so there would n’t be quite the same Benjamin Rush to get up to speed , but that ’s still shorten out a cardinal portion of pre - production exploitation that would be difficult to get past . There would obviously have been the potential to labor back the start engagement - especially now the moving picture has made the tractor trailer - expectedshift to December 2019- but that ’s still a reach .
merely put , it may not have been practicable for Rian Johnson to ever directStar Wars 9 , no matter of what Kathleen Kennedy need after his current grade . Nor may he have wanted to ; after all , J.J. partake reservation afterThe Force Awakensdue to the sheer order of magnitude of product . That ’s not to say he wo n’t have been asked , but if he was it would likely with an prospect of rejection .
What we can check by the various steps in production is that it was n’t an expected act . Yes , Jack Thorne coming incould have been a last - ditch effort to pay back up the story , but the fact that , in June , Johnson uncover heshot a brief snippet of the film for Trevorrowindicates up until a few calendar month ago thing were die in the focussing expected . This may have been throw away on a Johnson expecting a breather in other 2019 as much as it was the sports fan .
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Ultimately , until Johnson come out and discusses the film , we ca n’t recognize if he turned it down or not , but it ’s definitely not certain that J.J. was the 2d alternative . Regardless , the point of the story here was to getStar Wars Episode IXin good men as quickly as possible , and Lucasfilm did just that .
Next:J.J. Abrams Was The Best Choice For Star Wars 9
