A few thoughts on Abrams and Star Wars
Published: 1/26/2013 9:00 AM
Last Modified: 1/25/2013 11:20 PM
When Disney swooped in, bought Lucasfilms and announced the making of a new Star Wars trilogy, fans around the Internet were worried the franchise which many of us were raised on was going to be further twisted into a cash cow for the House of Mouse, our childhood memories trampled on like so many bones in the rancor pit.
Today, we can relax. Star Wars is in the hands of one of our own.
If you missed it Thursday, reports were all over the Internet that J.J. Abrams will direct “Star Wars: Episode VII.” StarWars.com confirmed those stories Friday night.
This was one of the two best-case scenarios for fans, and one most of us had given up hoping for after Abrams had said he turned down the chance to direct the film on multiple occasions.
Turns out, either producer Kathleen Kennedy is a better recruiter than we thought or Abrams was pulling the old professional coach’s trick of denying he was in the running for a job while still working toward getting it. It really doesn’t matter because both show that Disney has placed the next trilogy in able hands.
A few thoughts on what this means:
1. We can be optimistic the next trilogy won’t repeat the mistakes of the prequels. Abrams is a fan of Star Wars, just like the rest of us, and he will approach it as a fan trying to make the best movie set in a galaxy far, far away that he can. And this is a guy who has made some pretty great movies (“Star Trek,” “Super 8”) and television shows (“Alias,” “Lost,” “Fringe”). And while he’ll definitely put his spin on it (insert lens flare joke here), he’ll be true to the original material.
Of course, Abrams isn’t the only reason to be optimistic we won’t see mistakes like Jar-Jar Binks repeated. Oscar-winning screenwriter Michael Arndt is another. Arndt is a fan of the original trilogy as well, even reportedly using it as a teaching tool for aspiring writers. While you can expect him to respect Star Wars mythology, you can rest assured his script will avoid the stilted, convoluted dialogue that cursed George Lucas’ writing at times.
2. Star Trek fans should be worried. Abrams’ commitment to Star Wars likely means “Star Trek Into Darkness” will be his last soiree with the crew of the Starship Enterprise. The good side to that is that if he’s leaving that franchise after expressing a strong loyalty to it, “Into Darkness” is probably going to turn out to be one of the best Trek movies ever made.
The bad side is that someone will have to follow it up, and Abrams leaves will be a tough act to follow. There are plenty of options out there, but (and don’t hate me for saying this, Trek fans) the next Trek movie isn’t going to garner the type of attention “Episode VII” has. Star Trek, despite its wealth of characters and stories, has always been more of a nerd thing with a little crossover into the mainstream. Star Wars has been a mainstream success that nerds love. There’s a difference. While lots of big names will be tossed around for the next Trek movie, you won’t see anyone like Steven Spielberg or Ben Affleck rumored to be taking over the Trek franchise.
3. Speaking of Ben Affleck … I was surprised to see his name attached to “Episode VII.” He’s directed just five movies, and none of them are an epic story like Star Wars.“ I’m curious to see if Warner Bros. approaches Affleck formally about “Justice League” now that his dalliance with Disney and Star Wars is out of the way. The studio would love to work with him again after the success of “Argo,” and Affleck said he’d love to do a genre franchise. Affleck recently pulled out of another Warner Bros. picture, citing his busy schedule, but if he was able to free up time for Star Wars, maybe he’d consider “Justice League” if the studio could show him a solid script. I don’t think it’s likely we’ll see the Golden Globe winner helming DC’s mightiest heroes, but the chance to play Green Lantern might be enticing.
4. Plenty of questions remain, and we probably won’t get answers anytime soon. Now that we have a director, the main questions will surround who will be in the movie and what the story will be. Since filming probably won’t begin for another year or so, news of actors being signed will trickle out all the way up to right before shooting begins. Arndt’s script reportedly includes older versions of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher be among the first to sign. But the series will probably focus on new faces (Jaina, Jacen and Anakin Solo and Ben Skywalker, maybe?), which means the biggest announcements will be who else signs on and who they’ll be playing.
As for clues about the story, if “Into Darkness” is any indicator, expect Abrams to keep things quiet. People are still guessing about who Benedict Cumberbatch is really playing as the villain, and that movie’s already in post-production. The biggest clues for “Episode VII” might be the names of the new characters if they match up to anyone in current Star Wars continuity. Of course, if the storyline departs from the Expanded Universe, then everything is up in the air.
5. There were more interesting choices out there, but there wasn’t a better one. I would’ve loved to see “Kick-Ass” director Matthew Vaughn put his spin on Star Wars, and Brad Bird would’ve been an intriguing prospect as well. Same with Spielberg or Joss Whedon or Jon Favreau or David Fincher or even Colin Trevorrow (“Safety Not Guaranteed” was a brilliant, quirky film).
Some of those were unrealistic hopes (Spielberg and Whedon, specifically). Others were longshots (Fincher and Trevorrow). But from the beginning, none of them were going to be able to make as good of a Star Wars movie as Abrams. Maybe some could have put out a movie on the same level as Abrams, and others might have brought an interesting twist on the old Star Wars universe, but Abrams has already shown he can revamp a staid franchise. A lot will depend on the script, but Abrams wouldn’t have signed on if he didn’t like where Arndt was taking us.
For now, fans can rest easy since one of their biggest fears has been assuaged. I’m excited with this hire, and I’m expecting Abrams to take Star Wars places no man has gone before.
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Written by
James Royal
Staff Writer
