In 2015, Director JJ Abrams brought Star Wars back to life and showed us a brand new story about the galaxy far, far away. Abrams, who has shown great skill at working with reboots, and knows exactly what direction to take and how far to take it. He is great at evolving character arcs and efficiently transitioning story elements to their conclusion. With him returning to the helm to finish the trilogy he started, we can be sure that we can expect the unexpected.
Rian Johnson helmed the more recent Episode VIII titled Star Wars: The Last Jedi. This addition to the epic series saw the story take some very interesting turns, some of which still divide fans of the franchise as a whole. The film showcased several changes in tone for several characters from the first film, as well as plot points established in The Force Awakens. Domhnall Gleeson’s General Hux was one of the more noticeable, going from a Emperor Palatine-esque demeanor to a more watered down version of the character. While fans are up in the air about the future of Episode IX, Gleeson considers the change in direction a success.
“It takes real imagination and confidence to see what happened before – I mean JJ knocked it out of the park with VII – then have the confidence to say ‘I’m not just going to copy what JJ did, I’m going to develop my own thing. I just thought that was fantastic and not unexpected I suppose, or shouldn’t have been, because Rian is so distinctly his own filmmaker.”
Then he went on to share his excitement to see what changes could happen under the direction of JJ Abrams:
“Because JJ’s writing it, I know that if I’m in it I’ll get to do something exciting.”
Abrams has shown to be an amazing writer in many aspects over the years, so Gleeson is right to be excited and so should all the fans, regardless of their opinion on Episode VIII. Let’s hope Abrams can capitalize off some of the interesting choices Rian Johnson made in the The Last Jedi and deliver a satisfying conclusion to the latest Star Wars trilogy.
Also read: Chris Evans Talks Captain America & Iron Man’s Relationship In ‘Avengers: Infinity War’
With Solo: A Star Wars Story only a month and a half away, it’s hard to believe we are already at the point of looking ahead to the trilogy’s end. Wrapping things up with Episode IX is the same director who started it, J.J. Abrams, and if there was one complaint about his Star Wars: The Force Awakens it was the familiar story beats from the original trilogy, the most we can hope is another new journey to look forward to.
Star Wars: Episode IX is expected to hit theaters on December 20, 2019.
