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Back in December (episode #1,615, to be precise), I looked at how things were unfolding and predicted that it wouldn’t be until 2022 that we’d see the next Star Wars movie after the end of the Skywalker Saga. Yesterday, The Walt Disney Company announced their latest film release schedule and the next Star Wars movie comes out in … 2022. Then 2024 and 2026, and I’ll examine the release schedule implications for these movies and who may, in fact, be creating them. Punch it!
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Hi Alan, Keep up the great work. I know that you try to keep things positive but I’m surprised that you haven’t touched on Mark Hamill’s recent retweet (“missed opportunities”).
I’m not a fan of TLJ (love TFA, R1; Solo and the ep9 teaser) principally for the deconstruction of our hero Luke. There were certain great scenes (Mary Poppins Leia, Forcetiming etc…). I also give credit to Rian (who seems to be a nice, talented but very stubborn guy) for taking big risks. I can see what some love about his movie. However, it’s clearthat his movie really divided the fan base (and it’s not just the Russian trollers or Trump supporters ).
It would be great if you could address Mark’s comments (it’s clear to me that he’s not happy with how his character was handled by Rian but also JJ) and at maybe touch on whether you really truly believe that the Rian trilogy will actually happen given the divide.
Basically, I wish you would give your candid opinions on some tough SW questions. Us Patreons could you feed the questions….
thanks!
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Hi Adil,
Thanks for you comment and the kind words, too.
I feel like I’ve covered a lot of this on the podcast already, actually. I revisited the most controversial thing Mark said and reviewed it with the benefit of having seen TLJ, and other feedback from Mark, in episode 1,267.
I’m not convinced the fan base is divided as you describe it, and I spent a lot of time on that very topic when I was analyzing the box office results of Solo – some people were suggesting the poor performance was a TLJ backlash, and I went over the evidence six ways from Sunday, even going back to the TLJ box office, and I can’t convince myself that it was a significant part of it.
If you happen to check out video versions of the show on YouTube, you’ll see a running dialogue I’ve had there with a listener who feels much the same as you do about the divide.
Meanwhile, there’s evidence that Lucas himself envisioned this character turn for Luke, and long before JJ or RJ got involved – https://www.slashfilm.com/force-awakens-concept-art-luke/.
I won’t say “never,” but the list of topics I have for future episodes is long enough that I can’t see addressing Mark’s feelings about this again in the foreseeable future, unless something REALLY big comes of it.
Yes, I do think the RJ trilogy is still happening, and Kennedy said he’s working with B&W – I’m just puzzled by the new schedule announcement. If LFL hadn’t specifically said series of “films” about B&W, I might have thought the 2022/2024/2026 movies were RJ’s and B&W would be getting their own series for Disney+. But Iger said there won’t be original SW “films” on D+, so I think there’s still a lot to be revealed.
And also, LFL hasn’t been afraid to very publicly cut bait with creatives (Michael Arndt, Josh Trank, Colin Trevorrow, Lord & Miller), so if they were going to cut bait with RJ, I wouldn’t expect it to be quiet.
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We’ll have to agree to disagree on the “divided fan base” and the Rian Johnson trilogy. (Not sure why Kathleen Kennedy gave him an entire trilogy pre TLJ release; Same could apply to Benioff & Weiss but at least they were somewhat proven post GOT. Looper, a good movie, isn’t on the same scale).
To me, it’s pretty obvious that once Iger/Kennedy hit reset on the movies post Solo, the Rian Johnson trilogy has been on hold.
In fairness, so was the Kenobi movie until it got repurposed to Disney +. So yes, they haven’t cut bait, but the silence is deafening. “The truth is they’re still figuring out their schedule, their game plan,” said Rian. And yet another new project got announced (Kevin Fiege).
Here is some of my speculation that’s been in my head the past 5-6 months:
1) TRS does really well. Closer to TFA box office vs TLJ. Mostly unites the fractured fanbase. Mando does really well too.
3) In Jan/Feb 2020, Kennedy gets to retire on a high note and on her own terms (time left on her contract but I’m sure her and Iger have a handshake agreement on this). Batting 5 of 6 (Solo only miss) at the box office/Disney+. Given her stellar career, this is fair. She has done what she set out to do from a box office standpoint, JJ, Mando and CW season 7 help unite the base, and left a strong pipeline for Disney + and now movies (Benioff/Weiss & Fiege).
4) Kevin Fiege takes over (today’s news is the possible precursor). It’s clear to everyone re the mistakes at LucasFilm vs the Marvel approach (no overall game plan). Kennedy is not a creative and I don’t get the feeling that she’s obsessed with SW. (failure to attend the REbels finale for example). If not Fiege, a Favreau & Filoni duo would be a good option
5) The hold decision on Rian Johnson is correctly left to the new boss. Fiege will do the right thing in my opinion. Rian is way too polarizing and even if a new trilogy without the Skywalker “baggage” for him makes sense on paper, it’s better to go with others (Favreau, Watiti, Filoni, Patty Jenkins come to mind etc.)
6) Look for something from Filoni on a live action Ahsoka movie
Let’s revisit this in about 9-12 months and see how many I got right or wrong….