Correction appended.
J.J. Abrams will finish what he started. Tuesday, it was announced that J.J. Abrams would be replacing Colin Trevorrow as director of Star Wars: Episode IX. It follows the “mutual” decision between Lucasfilm and Colin Trevorrow to part ways on the project earlier this month.
Reports point to creative differences between Trevorrow and studio executives during the screenwriting process. Trevorrow was fresh off the release of his last film The Book of Henry which bore the burden of a negative critical reception. Before that, Trevorrow directed Jurassic World, a bland film that rode the nostalgia train all the way to a $1.7 billion dollar box office. The director’s big break came in Safety Not Guaranteed, a low-budget indie film starring Aubrey Plaza and Mark Duplass.
Abrams had directed The Force Awakens, the first installment of Disney and Lucasfilm’s new Star Wars trilogy back in 2015. This is the third time Lucasfilm has changed up its directing lineup since they began the franchise three years ago. Two years ago, Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm and creative head of the Star Wars franchise, elected to fire Josh Trank from helming a Star Wars spinoff. Rumors spread after he failed to appear at Disney’s Star Wars Celebration. One of the rumors was less-than-kind studio tension between Trank and Lucasfilm.
This is supported by the presence of producer Simon Kinberg on the production of the spinoff. Trank and Kinberg worked together on the Fox-produced Fantastic Four reboot in 2015. The film was plagued with many behind-the-scenes problems, all that culminated with Trank being fired and another individual directing reshoots for almost half of the film.
Trank found himself on the map after his 2012 found footage film Chronicle, starring Michael B. Jordan and Dane Dehaan.
Recently, Phil Lord and Chris Miller were fired from their directing positions on the still-untitled Han Solo film. The news initially came as a shock considering the duo’s stellar filmography and that the film was months from wrapping production. Kennedy and writer Lawrence Kasdan were reportedly upset with Lord and Miller’s improvisational directing style. The directors were supposedly indecisive and often did not meet production standards expected from Kennedy.
An acting coach was brought into aid actor Alden Ehrenreich with his role of the titular character of Han Solo. The directors were replaced by seasoned and Oscar-winning director Ron Howard of Apollo 13 fame.
All this is quite ironic in the face of Kennedy’s vision to bring fresh talent to the table for production on the Star Wars franchise. Even the well-received Rogue One, directed by Gareth Edwards, was put through reshoots led by Tony Gilroy. Reshoots that altered a good portion of the movie, including the ending, and resulted in Gilroy pocketing upward of $5 million. The reshuffling might shed light on the blockbuster industry of Hollywood. From Lucasfilm to Fox to Warner Bros, studio interference has proven to be quite the problem. David Fincher’s hellish experience on the set of Alien 3 resulted in a lackluster film and almost pushed one of the greatest auteurs of our time away from directing for good. Twenty-six years later, David Ayer was rushed through pre, principal and post production on Suicide Squad, resulting in an awful movie. Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and Kingdom of Heaven, Terry Gilliam’s Brazil and the extensively cut theatrical release of Killing Them Softly all suffered from intense studio interference.
But you cannot blame the executives too much. They are men and women who are running a business, pumping millions of dollars into a film with the hope of making some sort of profit. With that much money on the line, you cannot expect them to just let a director run free with no leash. No one wants another The Last Airbender.
As with nearly everything, only time will tell if Kennedy and Lucasfilm made the right decisions. The next film from Lucasfilm, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, is set to premiere Dec. 15. It is directed by Rian Johnson.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated a movie title. Ron Howard directed Apollo 13. The article has been updated to reflect the most accurate information.
