JJ Abrams To Direct Episode IX as Movie Moves to December

Disney and Lucasfilm has officially announced the replacement for Colin Trevorrow on Star Wars: Episode IX. The Force Awakens director and co-writer JJ Abrams will once again perform his dual role work for the the ninth movie with co-writer Chris Terrio. The studio said "J.J. Abrams, who launched a new era of Star Wars with The Force Awakens in 2015, is returning to complete the sequel trilogy as writer and director of Star Wars: Episode IX. Abrams will co-write the film with Chris Terrio. Star Wars: Episode IX will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, Abrams, Bad Robot, and Lucasfilm. 'With The Force Awakens, J.J. delivered everything we could have possibly hoped for, and I am so excited that he is coming back to close out this trilogy,' said Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy."

In addition, the movie is moving from its planned May 24, 2019 release to December 20, 2019. The change isn't really a surprise since Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, Rogue One, and Han Solo are all December releases. Might as well stick to the pattern and own the Holiday movie season year after year rather then getting mixed up with all the summer tent pole movies.

This should eliminate any director strife as JJ Abrams set the template that Kathleen Kennedy has really been following even if has not quite recognized it. Her stated goal was to seek out new voices that would add to the franchise but really she wanted safe voices and you can't get safer then JJ Abrams. I can't say I am excited by the choice as making The Force Awakens a rehash of A New Hope didn't do anything to grant confidence and his long history of TV shows and movies have indicated an strong ability to setup interesting mysteries but poor ability at follow through and concluding those mysteries in a satisfying way as I suspect he forgets that to figure out the solution while coming up with the problem/mystery. I guess we will see in two years.

JJ Abrams Hints on Who Rey's Parents Are Not

JJ Abrams has been talking here and there about Star Wars: The Force Awakens to promote the recent release of the movie on Blu-ray and DVD. As part of that he revealed a hint on who Rey's parents are not, reworking the key characters' relationship, and re-doing a familiar story.

On Rey's parents:
"Rey's parents are not in Episode VII. So I can't possibly say in this moment who they are. But I will say it is something that Rey thinks about, too. Obviously it’s not for me to talk about in this moment because this is [Episode VIII director] Rian [Johnson]’s story to continue now. The last thing I’m going to do is reveal something that he would be upset about. I want to make sure that Rian gets the courtesy that he showed me."

Finn/Rey relationship reworked due to Ford's leg injury:
"It didn't work at all. They were much more contentious. I didn't direct it right. It was set up all wrong. [I] was able to look at everything we'd done and rethink it and rewrite quite a bit of that relationship. So when we came back to work we actually just reshot, from the ground up, those scenes, and it was an amazingly powerful thing to get these two characters to where they needed to be."

Copying A New Hope:
“The weird thing about that movie is that it had been so long since the last one. Obviously the prequels had existed in between and we wanted to, sort of, reclaim the story. So we very consciously—and I know it is derided for this—we very consciously tried to borrow familiar beats, so the rest of the movie could hang on something that we knew was Star Wars. This movie was a bridge and a kind of reminder. The audience needed to be reminded what Star Wars is, but it needed to be established with something familiar, with a sense of where we are going to new lands, which is very much what 8 and 9 do.”

JJ Abrams Kicks Off Star Wars Fan Film Awards 2016 Entry Phase

JJ Abrams kicks off the Star Wars Fan Films Awards 2016 in the below message. Star Wars fans have until April 24, 2016 to submit entries in various categories. More details can be found at StarWarsFanFilmAwards.com including access to "a sound asset pack of official Star Wars sounds to use in your film."

JJ Abrams Confirms Copying A New Hope for Force Awakens Intentional

In an interview for The Hollywood Reporter Chatter podcast, director and writer of Star Wars: The Force Awakens JJ Abrams confirmed that he wanted "history repeating itself."

“Ultimately the structure of Star Wars itself is as classic and tried and true as you can get. It was itself derivative of all of these things that George loved so much, from the most obvious, Flash Gordon and Joseph Campbell, to the [Akira] Kurosawa references, to Westerns — I mean, all of these elements were part of what made Star Wars.”

“I can understand that someone might say, ‘Oh, it’s a complete rip-off!’” he said. “We inherited Star Wars. The story of history repeating itself was, I believe, an obvious and intentional thing, and the structure of meeting a character who comes from a nowhere desert and discovers that she has a power within her, where the bad guys have a weapon that is destructive but that ends up being destroyed — those simple tenets are by far the least important aspects of this movie, and they provide bones that were well-proven long before they were used in Star Wars.”

“What was important for me was introducing brand new characters using relationships that were embracing the history that we know to tell a story that is new — to go backwards to go forwards. So I understand that this movie, I would argue much more than the ones that follow, needed to take a couple of steps backwards into very familiar terrain, and using a structure of nobodies becoming somebodies defeating the baddies — which is, again, I would argue, not a brand new concept, admittedly — but use that to do, I think, a far more important thing, which is introduce this young woman, who’s a character we’ve not seen before and who has a story we have not seen before, meeting the first Storm Trooper we’ve ever seen who we get to know as a human being; to see the two of them have an adventure in a way that no one has had yet, with Han Solo; to see those characters go to find someone who is a brand new character who, yes, may be diminutive, but is as far from Yoda as I think a description of a character can get, who gets to enlighten almost the way a wonderful older teacher or grandparent or great-aunt might, you know, something that is confirming a kind of belief system that is rejected by the main character; and to tell a story of being a parent and being a child and the struggles that that entails — clearly Star Wars has always been a familial story, but never in the way that we’ve told here.”

JJ Abrams Talks Approach to Making Star Wars: The Force Awakens

In an interview with Wired, writer and director JJ Abrams discussed some of how he approached re-igniting the franchise without George Lucas and separating fan boy from storyteller when working on Star Wars: The Force Awakens. No real story spoilers were revealed but below are what I considered the core port of his response to each question. Having said that, worth reading the full interview. Behind the scenes pics can be found here.

How much of The Force Awakens is geared toward welcoming people back to the Star Wars franchise versus starting something completely new? How do you strike a balance between those two imperatives?
We wanted to tell a story that had its own self-contained beginning, middle, and end but at the same time, like A New Hope, implied a history that preceded it and also hinted at a future to follow.

Were there moments from your life or your own work from which you drew inspiration?
So I tried to not forget the mistakes I’d made, but I also tried to focus on things that I find inspiring about cinema. I asked questions like “How do we make this movie delightful?” That was really the only requirement Larry and I imposed on each other: The movie needed to be delightful. It was not about explaining everything away, not about introducing a certain number of toys for a corporation, not about trying to appease anyone. This has only ever been about what gets us excited.

JJ Abrams "Answers" a George Lucas Question, Confirms No New Trailers

In two brief videos, JJ Abrams kind of sorta talks Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In the first various celebs ask Abrams a question, none of which he really answers but then the only Star Wars one came from George Lucas. In the second interview with Extra, the director confirms there will be no more trailers and that he is enjoying hearing about people's theories on the film's story.

Abrams Teases More of Kylo Ren

As part of his interview for Empire Magazine in the UK, JJ Abrams revealed a touch more about Kylo Ren of the villains in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It is assumed that because he wields a light saber and a bad guy then he must be a Sith (the equivalent of Jedi) However, JJ Abrams said "Kylo Ren is not a Sith" who "works under Supreme Leader Snoke, who is a powerful figure on the Dark Side of the Force." Since there are always two (now that the Extended Universe is dead) then he might be suggesting that Kylo is the apprentice to Snoke's Sith Lord or at least a wannabe who is faking it. The character of Snoke has yet to be seen but he will be played by Andy Serkis using motion capture (like Planet of the Apes or Gollum).

As for The First Order which essentially replaced the Empire, is the result of "conversations about what would have happened if the Nazis all went to Argentina but then started working together again" and is not necessarily just ex-Imperial officers. He further teased, "Could The First Order exist as a group that actually admired The Empire? Could the work of The Empire be seen as unfulfilled? And could Vader be a martyr? Could there be a need to see through what didn’t get done?" The idea of Vader being considered a martyr is definitely an interesting concept.

Abrams, Cast Comment on Star Wars in D23 Video

Below is a video of comments from the JJ Abrams and the cast from Star Wars - The Force Awakens as they comment on the film while avoiding actually revealing anything. Abrams did tease that perhaps Han Solo has moved into legend with all the plus and minuses that come with being a living legend in a galaxy far away.

D23: New Star Wars Director, Poster, Theme Park, and Force Awakens Runtime

At the D23 Expo (D for Disney) in Anaheim, California some new information has been revealed about the Star Wars movies. To start take a look at the new poster by Drew Struzan that is currently exclusive to the D23 Con but hopefully will hint at future posters to promote the movie. Next, Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow has been tapped to direct Star Wars: Episode IX. Pre-production on the film is expected to start soon so that means he is out for directing Jurassic World 2. Third, the runtime for Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set at about 124 minutes (2h, 4m) which hits right in the length for the original trilogy.

After that we have news that Disney is planning a Star Wars themed land for Disneyland Anaheim and Disney World Orlando. The land will be their largest yet covering 14 acres of land with attractions of a new planet, catina, trading post, a battle between The First Order (Empire) and Resistance (Alliance) and a ride to fly the Millennium Falcon. Essentially it will be like Harry Potter World only Disneyfied. No opening date but something that scale will probably take at least five years to build. Concept images can be found here.

Finally The Force Awakens director JJ Abrams discussed some random bits with the press:

JJ Abrams Talks Pegg, Secrets, and Sound for The Force Awakens

Entertainment Weekly has posted more about their discussion with JJ Abrams about Star Wars: The Force Awakens. As usual for the director it contained virtually no real information other than lots of feel good thoughts but some might find it interesting. The key bit of "news" is that Simon Pegg helped provide input on the film. Not as a writer but as a sounding board for story ideas. Details below.

On Simon Pegg's contribution to the film
“I will say this in terms of Simon: while he won’t be recognizable in the movie, in all honesty, his role in this – not the performance or the character – but his support and friendship has been massively important and helpful in the process. He was a wonderful partner in crime to kick the story around and ask questions and come up with ideas, and he was an incredibly helpful part of the process for all of us. I’m very grateful. He was a sounding board. He would drop by the set because he wanted to, and when he could, he would help… We could talk about things, and he was a perfect combination of incredibly smart screenwriter, fan of the series, critical fan of the series, and friend of mine – but not just blindly supportive. He was an honest, critical friend. And he wasn’t so close to it that he became immune to things. He would come in with fresh eyes and very smart ideas. He’s one of a handful of people along the way that has been really priceless.”

On fandom and keeping film secrets:
“One of the great things that Lucasfilm has done over the years is embracing the community of Star Wars fans, and it’s because they realize that it’s really the fans’ story. And that understanding, that sharing of information and engaging with the fans is something that I really admire. My instinct is to typically keep things quiet – and if I had my way, perhaps we would be showing less – but the truth is, I want to make sure that the fans aren’t feeling like we are holding back for the sake of it. I also have read more comments than I ever expected where people say, ‘don’t spoil it for me, don’t show me everything, don’t ruin the story, I don’t want to know it yet. And I’m always grateful for that. So it’s a little bit of a tightrope, and we want to make sure we’re being forthcoming, but that we’re not spoiling."

About Ben Burtt the sound designer for the original trilogy (aka the guy who created all the blaster, starship, lightsaber duel, etc sounds)
“I can’t talk about what he’s doing specifically on this movie, but I’ll say that I’m thrilled to get to work with Ben again. We worked together on the Star Trek films, on Super 8, and now on this. We also are lucky to have Gary Rydstrom, of course, and Matt Wood. We have an amazing sound team. The thing that keeps being remarkable to me is how much George Lucas got right when he did Star Wars. Like, it is a preposterous ratio of things that work that were brand-new, and bold, and thrilling. The sound certainly was one of those things. And when you hear that specific roar of a TIE fighter, or the sound of a lightsaber coming on, or the sound of a droid, or any number of things – and there are so many – the idea that you can close your eyes and hear a couple sound effects and know exactly what movie that is, is completely a testament to the work that Ben Burtt did then, and that he’s contributing to now.”

Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke (using motion capture)
"I have nothing about him yet, but I will say that Andy Serkis is like working with someone who is an historically great actor. He is the kindest, sweetest, most lovely guy, so it’s not that he puts on any airs of being pretentious or anything at all, but he’s simply so damn good, that when I’m working with him, I feel like I’m working with someone who is, you know, like a Charles Laughton, or someone who is just so extraordinary. Then there’s the whole matter of how he incorporates technology in a way that no one has seen or done… There are many levels to his genius, but he is certainly a genius.”

Entertainment Weekly Cover Story Reveals New Movie Images and Story Tidbits

In the cover article for this week's Entertainment Weekly, Star Wars: The Force Awakens director JJ Abrams and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy discussed the film providing a few tidbits about the story and the characters along with a few images. The highlights are below. Click here for hi-def pictures and here for the full article.

Highlights:
- JJ Abrams decided to take on film when Kathleen Kennedy asked him "Who is Luke Skywalker?". Exploring that gave him chills.

- Did not reveal details of the post 30 years state of the world but said "Any good story has conflict. And if all were rosy 30-some years post-Jedi, we would be hard-pressed to find an interesting story to tell."

- The Empire has "morphed" into The First Order while a splinter group of the Rebels is called the Resistance with Poe Dameron (Oscar Issac) a fighter for them.

- Leia somehow has Anakin's original lightsaber that Obi Wan recovered (Revenge of the Sith) and gave to Luke (A New Hope) who lost it when he lost his hand against Darth Vader (Empire Strikes Back).

- The main bad guys is Vader super fan Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), The First Order General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) and First Order Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie).

- Force Awakens writer Lawrence Kasdan was also intrigued by the Who is Luke Skywalker question and exploring that 30 year gap for Han Solo and Leia.

- Abrams verified that he is not directing Episode IX (VII is being directed by Rian Johnson (Looper).

- Kylo Ren's mask was designed to be a nod to Vader's helmet while the lightsaber was hand built by Ren.

- Much like "Darth" is a Sith title, so too is "Ren" for Knights of Ren. As for what the knights are, Abrams didn't elaborate.

- Kasdan said "...there’s never been a character quite like [Kylo Ren]. ...he's full of emotion."

SDCC 2015: Star Wars Panel Starts With BTS Reel, Ends in Concert

It seems JJ Abrams decided to go with the mantra of "go big or go home" for Friday's Star Wars: The Force Awakens panel at the San Diego Comic Con (SDCC). Moderated by Chris Hardwick (Nerdist, @midnight) included Abrams, producer Kathleen Kennedy, co-writer Lawrence Kasdan (who also wrote Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi), new good guys of John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Issac (Poe Dameron) then the bad guys of Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Domhall Gleeson (General Hux) and Gwendonline Christie (Captain Phasma). If that wasn't enough, later Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford joined the panel.

During the panel Abrams showed a behind the scenes reel that showed off sets, props, actors (including Simon Pegg playing an alien) and more that teased various aspects of the movie. Usually these reels are never released to the public (for reasons I never understood) but Lucasfilm released that same reel to the public about the same time they showed it at SDCC (1st video below, screenshots here). By most standards that is enough for Star Wars to have won comic con but nope Abrams decided to kick it up a notch by inviting everyone at the panel to a Star Wars concert at the San Diego Symphony that ends in fireworks (3rd video). Below is a summary of key bits from the panel or you can watch the entire panel by clicking the second video below.

Star Wars 8 Date, Spin-Off Title and Rumored 9 Director

A few bits of quick updates regarding the Star Wars movie franchise that is aiming for a release a year starting this December with Star Wars 7 The Force Awakens.

To start the first "spin-off" movie is titled "Star Wars: Rogue One" with a December 16, 2016 release date. The writer is Chris Weitz (Monsters, Godzilla) and the director will be Gareth Edwards (Cinderella, Antz) with Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything) starring. Rogue One, at least during the Expanded Universe (EU) era, referred to the leader of Rogue Squadron which was the Rebels (and later New Republic's) elite X-Wing squadron. Wedge Antilles and Luke Skywalker each had the moniker at some point. Since the EU is dead, that title could now mean anything. In addition, composer Alexandre Desplat (Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game) will create the score for the film.

Star Wars: Episode VIII's release date is now set for May 26, 2017 and marks the 40th Anniversary of the franchise. The director will be Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper, Breaking Bad).

The final bit is currently just an unconfirmed rumor. According to the Latino-Review (whose movie leaks are in the 50/50 range for accuracy) is reporting that Star Wars: Episode IX might be directed by JJ Abrams who will return to the helm after a break from Episode 7. Schedule wise it actually makes perfect sense as provides him enough of a break between films to recharge or do some other project but still allow plenty of time to prep the final installment of this trilogy set.

A Thank You Video from Star Wars Sets

Below is a new video filmed as part of the Omaze "Force for Change" charity that has JJ Abrams and the crew saying "Thank You!" for participating in the charity which raised $4.26 million for UNICEF.

Abrams' Force for Change Update Reveals New X-Wing

In a new video (below) to promote Force for Change, J.J. Abrams stood by a "new" X-Wing Starfighter however based on the aging done to the prop its actually old within the post-Return of the Jedi world the story is set in. The Force for Change charity is to support UNICEF with a chance to donate for a chance win a set visit in London and be an extra in Star Wars Episode VII. It has a kind of Kickstarter feel to it with different donation levels that also give you a chance to win other Star Wars related prizes. Full details and how to donate is here. After that is an additional video from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert to promote the charity drive.

Abrams Posts Response to Set Leaks

While JJ Abrams' desire to keep movie secrets borders on obsession, he does still have his sense of humor. In a letter that he tweet via the Bad Robot twitter account, the Star Wars Episode VII director wrote a letter about the recent set leaks that included a Millennium Falcon set. Probably safe to assume part of the set will be the holographic chessboard that the letter is on. In case can't see the pic it says:

I wish people would stop leaking photos from Episode VII and making ridiculous claims that the Millennium Falcon is in the movie.

JJ

Force for Change Message from Star Wars Set

JJ Abrams has posted a new video from the Abu Dhabi set where Star Wars is currently filming. In the video he announces a new charity called Force for Change and a chance to win a set visit and extra role in the movie.

Abrams Pleased With Star Wars Release Date Change

In an interview with MTV to promote his new novel "S", Star Wars Episode VII director and writer JJ Abrams commented on the movies change of release date from Summer to Christmas 2015. He joked about the "casting" of R2-D2 and how tough a negotiator his agent was.

"I will say that it is an infinitely better situation now than when they were saying that they wanted it in the summer [of 2015]," he said. "Before I even came onto the project, they were talking about 2015, and they made this announcement very early on, which I understand. I understand why they'd want that, but it didn't necessarily have anything to do with the reality of where anything was creatively. I think that it's a hugely important thing that [the creative process] come first," Abrams said. "A release date is great, but you have to release something great. To me, the new release date is a huge improvement."

"Stranger" Teaser For a New Novel

The mystery of the Bad Robot trailer from a few weeks ago has been revealed to be a book titled "S." Yep just the letter S. The book is by Doug Dorst (Alive in Necropolis) based on a concept by JJ Abrams for release on October 29. I would not be surprised if Abrams hopes to use the book as a way to get funding for a movie from one of the studios.

Book description:

One book. Two readers. A world of mystery, menace, and desire.

A young woman picks up a book left behind by a stranger. Inside it are his margin notes, which reveal a reader entranced by the story and by its mysterious author. She responds with notes of her own, leaving the book for the stranger, and so begins an unlikely conversation that plunges them both into the unknown.

The book: Ship of Theseus, the final novel by a prolific but enigmatic writer named V.M. Straka, in which a man with no past is shanghaied onto a strange ship with a monstrous crew and launched onto a disorienting and perilous journey.

The writer: Straka, the incendiary and secretive subject of one of the world’s greatest mysteries, a revolutionary about whom the world knows nothing apart from the words he wrote and the rumors that swirl around him.

The readers: Jennifer and Eric, a college senior and a disgraced grad student, both facing crucial decisions about who they are, who they might become, and how much they’re willing to trust another person with their passions, hurts, and fears.

S., conceived by filmmaker J. J. Abrams and written by award-winning novelist Doug Dorst, is the chronicle of two readers finding each other in the margins of a book and enmeshing themselves in a deadly struggle between forces they don’t understand, and it is also Abrams and Dorst’s love letter to the written word.

Bad Robot's "Stranger" Teaser

JJ Abram's Bad Robot production company has posted a teaser video simply titled "Stranger". What it means, what it is promoting, and all those other questions remain unknown. I suspect this for an idea that really only exists on paper and Bad Robot is hoping to use it to get studio interest to pay for whatever idea the video is for. So watch it and then ignore it until something more substantial is released about it.