Star Wars VIII Script Is "So Good", Abrams Wishes He Could Direct It

[Fanghawk]

Star Wars VIII Script Is "So Good", Abrams Wishes He Could Direct It

//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/735/735595.jpgJ.J. Abrams has read the Star Wars Episode VIII script, and loves it so much, he regrets leaving the director's chair.

Star Wars was an undeniable success last week, <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/165586-The-Force-Awakens-Takes-Box-Office-Record-From-Jurassic-World>both critically and financially, welcoming a new generation to the galaxy far, far away. Of course, many long-time fans are wondering one thing: <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/140093-Star-Wars-2016-Standalone-Flick-Will-Be-Called-Rogue-One>What's planned for Episode VIII? We won't know for another two years, but executive producer J.J. Abrams reportedly loves the script. In fact, he thinks it's so great, Abrams wishes he was directing instead of Rian Johnson.

The information comes from The Force Awakens' Greg Grunberg, who worked with Abrams on projects like Lost, Felicity, and even Star Trek. "He read it and said something he never, ever says," Grunberg said, expressing Abrams' regret that he wasn't directing. "He may have said something one time on Lost, with Damon [Lindelof], but I never hear him express regret like that."

Directing Star Wars is a dream, but stepping away is understandable, given Disney's rigorous filming schedule. The parent company <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/161489-New-Star-Wars-Movie-Every-Year-Says-Disney>already wants to make a movie each year, and would probably raise it to Marvel-esque multi-film deals if it proved financially feasible. That's great for fans, but absolute hell for cast and crew, prompting J.J. Abrams to step into an executive role instead. So if Episode VIII is still making Abrams regret his decision? It might be incredibly good indeed.

We'll find out on May 26, 2017 if Episode VIII will be The Empire Strikes Back of this new series. In the meantime, <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/star%20wars%20rogue%20one?os=star+wars+rogue+one>Star Wars: Rogue One arrives on Dec. 16, 2016.

Source: GamesRadar

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[Silentpony_v1legacy]

I saw your movie, JarJar.
Its a small justice in a dark world you haven't gotten your claws on this one too.

 

[Cartographer]

At no point have I ever been "impressed" with Abrams' work; he is a mediocre director who releases derivative work with virtually no originality and Ep. 7 is no exception. About as middle-of-the-road a movie as possible, nowhere near as poor as any of the prequels, barely scraping a c+ compared with any of the originals.
Thank god he's gone and someone with talent is taking the helm on the next one.

 

[Mahorfeus]

I am kind of apprehensive about how the movies will pan out since they all have different directors, but I do have faith in Disney. All things considered, TFA was pretty damn good, but somehow in a way that won't make it a tough act to follow.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Yeah, J.J., I'm going to echo what other people have said. The Force Awakens was fun. It felt like Star Wars again, and I was super excited while I was watching it. It hit all the right beats and proved that Star Wars can be renewed and enjoyable.

But we need some risks in the next movie. We need more than just scene and script pulls from the originals. We need the next movie to feel like something new in the Star Wars universe, and not just a "welcome back!" movie. And honestly...I don't think Abrams can pull that off. He's good at making things blow up for sure, and that is a part of Star Wars, but there's also more to it, and I don't think he can get it there. I think keeping him on to help is a good choice, but from here on out, I'm don't think he would be a good choice to in charge. Star Wars needs to grow and do its own thing now, and his part in starting that is over.

 

[ecoho]

At no point have I ever been "impressed" with Abrams' work; he is a mediocre director who releases derivative work with virtually no originality and Ep. 7 is no exception. About as middle-of-the-road a movie as possible, nowhere near as poor as any of the prequels, barely scraping a c+ compared with any of the originals.
Thank god he's gone and someone with talent is taking the helm on the next one.

Yeah, J.J., I'm going to echo what other people have said. The Force Awakens was fun. It felt like Star Wars again, and I was super excited while I was watching it. It hit all the right beats and proved that Star Wars can be renewed and enjoyable.

But we need some risks in the next movie. We need more than just scene and script pulls from the originals. We need the next movie to feel like something new in the Star Wars universe, and not just a "welcome back!" movie. And honestly...I don't think Abrams can pull that off. He's good at making things blow up for sure, and that is a part of Star Wars, but there's also more to it, and I don't think he can get it there. I think keeping him on to help is a good choice, but from here on out, I'm don't think he would be a good choice to in charge. Star Wars needs to grow and do its own thing now, and his part in starting that is over.

yeah sorry I don't want risks I want a good movie and risks tend to not work well with star wars. More importantly while its the same formula as the original in my opinion the force awakens was better then a new hope.

 

[enginieri]

Gross simplification, but for Me, in movies, Directors are the ones that tell the tale to you, scripts are the tale (actors are... ?the characters in the tale?).
For many years now what is missing in Hollywood are enough excellent scripts. Give JJ Abrams (or Trevorrow) a brilliant, smart, innovative script and even him can come out with an surprising, excellent movie.... I guess.
FOR ALL THE HOLY IN THE LIGHT SIDE OF THE FORCE, PLEASE PLEASE DON'T LET TREVORROW NEAR THE SCRIPT OF EPISODE IX (director and writer of Jurassic World)

 

[Metalrocks]

and i thought he signed up to direct more and not just one. dont know who the other director is.
i certainly enjoyed his movie and kind of wish he would direct the next one. especially since it had some plotholes that need to be filled out.
well, lets see how the next one will be.

 

[Buizel91]

At no point have I ever been "impressed" with Abrams' work; he is a mediocre director who releases derivative work with virtually no originality and Ep. 7 is no exception. About as middle-of-the-road a movie as possible, nowhere near as poor as any of the prequels, barely scraping a c+ compared with any of the originals.
Thank god he's gone and someone with talent is taking the helm on the next one.

He took the safe route with Ep 7, and considering fans still have a bad taste in their mouth thanks to the prequels, i'm not surprised.

Still if ep 7 is any indication, it can only get better thanks to what it set up. Say what you want about ep 7, but u can't deny the characters are likeable, the humour is on point (and probably the best in any starwars film) and the nice blend of practical effects and CGI really make it come together. Unlike the prequels where characters were added purely for comic relief *glares at Jar Jar* the humour is, at times, cringe worthy and the CGI is an eye sore. And this is coming from someone who doesn't actually mind the prequels xD (well...to a point)

 

[Ralancian]

Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed Episode VII and rate it among Jedi and ANH the reason why it wasn't superb for me is Abrams complete lack of originality. Sure it was fun to watch ANH with a sprinkle of Empire and Jedi with far better FX but there was nothing new bought to the table in this table and it felt like rehash. I'm glad he's out the picture a good safe pair of hands for an established franchise but that's all he ever is and will be.

I remember when people were telling to watch Lost as it was the best thing ever and I just felt I'd seen it all before in many other science fiction shows. Star Trek Wars was exactly that someone who didn't understand Star Trek and wanted to make Star Wars instead and when he made Into Darkness he could only remake Wrath of Khan with ever so slightly different character beats.

So yeah glad someone else is directing who will bring something different to the story as I don't need to watch Empire again, why because I can just watch Empire. I like The Force Awakens a lot but to say it's something new and refreshing and tell it's story is just untrue.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

yeah sorry I don't want risks I want a good movie and risks tend to not work well with star wars. More importantly while its the same formula as the original in my opinion the force awakens was better then a new hope.

Some of the most amazing movies Hollywood has ever put out were because a studio took risks with a formula that normally doesn't work, but managed to implement it in a way that no one else could ever emulate. Meanwhile, it's very rare that sticking with a "working formula" produces anything beyond bland results that are just trying to ape what other movies have done, only better, in the past. I don't want to see Star Wars try to be every-other movie out there; I want to see Star Wars be its own thing, and that means treading new waters.

 

[stormtrooper9091]

well as long as neither Michael Bay nor Zack Snyder are involved, anything goes. JJ isn't really etched in history with this one either

 

[Scarim Coral]

Spoiler: Spoiler about the movie

So I take it episode 8 won't be a rehash on The Empire Strike Back?

 

[Cartographer]

At no point have I ever been "impressed" with Abrams' work; he is a mediocre director who releases derivative work with virtually no originality and Ep. 7 is no exception. About as middle-of-the-road a movie as possible, nowhere near as poor as any of the prequels, barely scraping a c+ compared with any of the originals.
Thank god he's gone and someone with talent is taking the helm on the next one.

He took the safe route with Ep 7, and considering fans still have a bad taste in their mouth thanks to the prequels, i'm not surprised.

Still if ep 7 is any indication, it can only get better thanks to what it set up. Say what you want about ep 7, but u can't deny the characters are likeable, the humour is on point (and probably the best in any starwars film) and the nice blend of practical effects and CGI really make it come together. Unlike the prequels where characters were added purely for comic relief *glares at Jar Jar* the humour is, at times, cringe worthy and the CGI is an eye sore. And this is coming from someone who doesn't actually mind the prequels xD (well...to a point)

I can quite easily deny it.
Po was a non-entity, on screen for so little time it was impossible to feel anything but anger at his smug, self-aware "I've got plot armour" dialogue.
Finn was the worst case of 90's-Nickelodeon-Character I've seen in a long time, virtually every line he delivered sounded like it wouldn't have been out of place in a episode of Keenan and Kel. His tone was simply off, every time he spoke.
Rey was just about tolerable, but come on. She's spent years and years waiting for something to come and make her life better and is "convinced", "reluctantly" to abandon that wait due to an "awakening" of the force? She's the audience! She is J.J. Abrams trying to convince the viewers that "yes, maybe the original trilogy were better and yes, you've been disappointed before, but c'mon, take another chance..." The manipulation of the audience is evident (and not subtle!) every second she's on screen, just no. Hell, she's even shown fondly staring at some Star Wars memorabilia ffs!

Ok, fine.

BB-8 was fun.

 

[FirstNameLastName]

BREAKING NEWS!

Man who has vested interest in having as many people as possible see the next movie says that the next movie will be good. In other news, the Pope has gone on record saying "the Bible is a great book, you should definitely read it."

I've resisted the urge recently to periodically kick down the door to the news room and scream "this isn't news!" but honestly, this is just too much. I know JJ isn't directing the next film and so doesn't have as much of a vested interest in these films as he could have, but really? This is about as impartial as hearing an EA employee talk about how great EA's up coming games will be.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

"Wow guys, this script is just, so good".

VII filled with me indifference and mild despair that the new Star Wars will just be "okay". This news coming from the guy who made it just okay doesn't tell me jack shit.

I can only hope that these movies won't go the way of the MCU and just become a part of consumerism, where there's always "a new Star Wars" to see. I'd much rather someone put the time and effort into making these movies as impressive and ground breaking as the originals, which seems to be what the current people in charge have completely missed.

 

[LostCrusader]

Wow they're starting up the hype train early for this one. Ep 7 was enjoyable but seems way to soon to start hyping a mid 2017 follow up.

 

[circularlogic88]

Hopefully Rey will be reworked as a character with flaws who isn't quite so perfect at everything. I liked the movie for what it was: A blatant means of revitalizing the franchise by giving a greatest hits remix of what people liked from the first movie...plus that little bit at the end, because Abrams loves his mystery boxes so much. However, they Rey character was flawless in every sense of the word: tech/mechanic saavy, skilled fighter, able to pilot and repair ships she's just been on despite having never left her home planet before, she's a crack shot with a laser pistol, she gets Han's approval,

Spoiler: and then that whole other part where...

...she becomes the most competent and skilled force user in mere moments where it took Luke 3 movies and several years to become a fully fledged Jedi Master.

It's honestly a wonder why anyone bothered to show up at the final act apart from Rey. She seemed like she could have taken on the entire First Order by herself.

 

[enginieri]

A year and a half is right around the corner for a box-office record-breaking movie, the anvil is hot, JJ Abrams is channeling the Schwartz. Imagine if someone started hyping "In the heart of the sea II"

 

[enginieri]

Hopefully Rey will be reworked as a character with flaws who isn't quite so perfect at everything.

They tried so hard to avoid inserting elements of the prequels and there you have, in your face...the phantom menace "Anakin syndrome", wrapped around an 100% even better "personality"