Source: Deadline | Collider | Posted By: Dan Geer
Just when we though we couldn’t receive bigger news than who will be helming the next two Star Wars spinoff films (Godzilla‘s Gareth Edwards and Chronicle‘s Josh Trank), Deadline has dropped an even bigger bomb today, reporting that Disney/Lucasfilm have chosen a new director for Star Wars: Episode VIII.
What?! No more J.J. Abrams after Episode VII?! Read on…
Looper director Rian Johnson will reportedly write and direct Star Wars: Episode VIII. While Deadline is reporting that he’s also on board to direct Episode IX as well, The Wrap only confirms he’s writing a treatment for IX, and Variety is only reporting that Johnson is directing VIII.
It was already a huge commitment for J.J. Abrams to leave home for London to write and direct Star Wars: Episode VII. So, while it is a bit disappointing to hear that he won’t be back for VIII and/or IX, it’s not all that surprising.
Personally, while I liked Looper, I am much more of an Abrams fan at this point, so Johnson had better step up his game and create the most excellent Star Wars movie ever. Honestly, he seems more of a fit for one of the spinoffs, not an actually part of the episodic Saga. But then again, if I were 34 years old in the 1970s, I might have said the same thing about Irvin Kershner, and look what he brought us.
There’s just a certain look and feel, or a certain pacing if you will, that makes Star Wars feel the way it does. I have no doubt Abrams will pull that off, since he was able to successfully emulate the tone of the classic 80s Speilberg/Amblin films with Super 8, and we all know he adores George Lucas films as much, if not more than Spielberg’s. I have no idea what Johnson’s sensibilities are when it comes to this franchise. All I know is that he made a great sci-fi film with Looper that feels nothing like Star Wars. That doesn’t mean he can’t pull off a Star Wars film. It only means that I don’t personally have enough to go on to have as much confidence in him as I do Abrams.
Anyway, this is still the biggest news in Star Wars since the announcement of the Star Wars spinoff directors and the return of the Original Trilogy cast for Episode VII. I just wish Abrams was on board for all three films in the sequel trilogy. Official announcement from Lucasfilm is sure to come very soon.
Star Wars: Episode VII is slated to hit theaters December 18, 2015. Star Wars: Episodes VIII and IX release dates are yet to be determined.
