J.J. Abrams Consulted George Lucas Before Writing The Script For ‘Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker’
The world was up in arms this weekend as the trailer for the ninth episode of the Star Wars saga was revealed at Star Wars Celebration in Chicago on Friday. Along with the trailer, the title of the film was finally unveiled, and fans now know it is going to be called Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Essentially, this film will close out the “Skywalker Saga,” and that is why J.J. Abrams wanted to get the blessing and knowledge of he who knows all.
If you haven’t yet seen the trailer or choose not to, you may not want to read ahead as there are some spoilers ahead.
Abrams has returned as the co-writer and director for The Rise of Skywalker, and he knew that this was one needed to be done in the right way. While all of the films have had something special about them, Abrams told IGN that he wanted to make sure this so-called conclusion was done in a way that respected all.
While speaking with IGN at Star Wars Celebration, Abrams let the world know that he wanted to find a way to bring eight films and three trilogies to an ending in one movie. In order to do that, Abrams went to the ultimate source: George Lucas.
Back in 2012, Lucas sold Lucasfilm to the Walt Disney Company and placed Kathleen Kennedy in place as the new head of the division. He handed over what he had in place for Episodes VII-IX, but most of it was ditched to create most of their own new journey through the galaxy.
Despite wanting to create their own trilogy for the end of the Skywalker saga, Abrams knew that this film needed to have some additional input. That being said, he turned to Lucas to get some help before even beginning to work on the script for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
“This movie had a very, very specific challenge, which was to take eight films and give an ending to three trilogies, and so we had to look at, what is the bigger story? We had conversations amongst ourselves, we met with George Lucas before writing the script. These were things that were in real, not debate, but looking at the vastness of the story and trying to figure out, what is the way to conclude this? But it has to work on its own as a movie, it has to be its own thing, it has to be surprising and funny and you have to understand it.”
For those who have seen the trailer, there was a lot to take in, but the final few seconds may have been the most jaw-dropping. As the title of the film appears, the evil and sadistic laugh of Emperor Palpatine echoes out and changes everything.
Every generation has a legend. Watch the brand-new teaser for Star Wars: #EpisodeIX. pic.twitter.com/fWMS13ekdZ
— Star Wars | #TheMandalorian is Now Streaming (@starwars) April 12, 2019
J.J. Abrams didn’t actually say that it was George Lucas’s idea to bring Palpatine back for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and it kind of makes sense. Lucas used the evil Sith lord to start things out and rise to power, and it’s hard to believe this nine-film saga can conclude without him being present.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker officially hits theaters on December 20, 2019, but for now, it seems like a galaxy far, far away.
