First and foremost, I am a huge Star Wars fan, when I was 5 the original trilogy were my favorite movies, and I'm ashamed to say that Episode 3 was my favorite of the series, but the rest of the prequels sucked. So I was really excited when I learned their was a new trilogy on the way, and giving us the fabled Episodes 7-9 that were part of Lucas' original plan. So even with that I feel a little uneasy about JJ Abrams directing the next Star Wars, and in this editorial I will convey why I feel this way.
First Abrams is already in charge of a major science fiction series. I understand that Star Wars and Star Trek are two entirely different franchises, but I feel a director should only be in charge of one major series at a time. Call me old fashioned but I like to group the movie with the director, and I'm sure the maybe three people on Earth who don't know Star Wars and Star Trek are different franchises might get confused and lump them together. Everything else on this list will tie in to this fact.
Abrams has a very unique visual style. That is to say he enjoys lens flare and and either very gritty of very clean, with not much middle ground. Star wars on the other hand needs the middle ground, and the side ground, and any other ground for that matter. What was unique with the original Star Wars trilogy was that the worlds were all unique and had a very different feel to them. As for the lens flare Abrams can't get away with them on many of the planets, for example the forests worlds such as Endor and Kyshyyk. Or even on some ships, imagine if the Millennium Falcon had lens flare, it would lose all of its charm and would probably not be the legend it is today.
Another problem I have with an Abrams directed Star Wars is that Abrams has a tendency to get bored, and it becomes obvious in his shows when he reaches this point, either that or he simply runs out of ideas, remember Fringe's last season, or Lost? Since Star Wars Episode VII would be his 3rd science fiction epic, we're already racing the clock as it is.
How It Should Be
After hearing all of that I want to tell you dear readers how I feel a Star Wars movie should be handled. And for the record I won't say take it away from Disney, because lets face it Disney's track record is amazing. They bought Marvel in 2011, and every movie, television show, and comic done since then is thanks to them, and it's not like they can screw up Star Wars more than the prequels did. So with that in mind lets continue.
Let's start off with a director shall we, I already made it clear I don't think Abrams is right, but then who is? I feel no one director is a good idea for this project, what I mean by that is make it a collaborated project. When the studio was first looking for a director all of the candidates had the same excuse, they were afraid of failing in this monumental task, even big names like Wheden and Snyder. So this is an easy fix, use multiple directors all lending their signature to the film, bringing together Snyder's incredible visuals, Whedon's script writing and humor, and even Tarentino's fight scenes. True getting directors as big as these to work together may be difficult and expensive, but the fact that its Star Wars should make it easy to finance with fan support, actors actually wanting to be in it, and studios willing to fork over a massive budget in order to get the film made. Of course the names I mentioned are simply examples, but I feel they are good examples.
Take the focus off the original characters. This may be the biggest selling point for Episode VII, the original cast is returning. However I feel that the story of the Rebellion is over and its time for new heroes, especially since the original cast has gotten older. This is not to say I don't want them, I do, but put them more in the background rather than center stage.
Probably the most important thing a new Star Wars movie could do is simply have George Lucas around as a consultant. I realize its his fault the prequels sucked, and Red Tails was also bad, but he did create the original trilogy back when he wasn't only interested in making money. Therefore he does have an insight into how the characters should be, so why not listen.
Well those are my thoughts on the matter. However no matter how well made the new Star Wars ends up, it will be over hyped, this is the nerd Holy Grail after all. But I am interested in hearing yor thoughts, feel free to leave a comment below.
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