It was reported earlier that producer, director and writer J.J. Abrams was shopping himself around for a reported record-breaking deal. This means that the director wants to have all of his creative efforts, including TV shows, films and streaming projects at one studio.
Disney is among the two front-runners to land a deal with Abrams. The report also explained why Disney is so interested in the hit director.
Abrams is currently working on Star Wars: Episode IX, which is reportedly seen as a “course correction” for Lucasfilm after their recent efforts like Solo: A Star Wars Story, which failed to meet the audiences’ expectations. The director also has a close relationship with Disney CEO Bob Iger.
Solo: A Star Wars Story was a flop, both commercially and critically. It only managed to gross $393 worldwide and has a moderate but disappointing 70% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, according to which the film was “a flawed yet fun and fast-paced space adventure…should satisfy newcomers to the saga as well as longtime fans who check their expectations at the theater door.”
Here’s what Abrams said about getting an opportunity to work on a Star Wars film:
“I learned so much in that movie and I saw that this was a chance to sort of realize something that we hadn’t quite achieved – and part of that was it was simply the beginning of these new characters and their story. The opportunity to sort of take what we had learned, to take the feeling of who these characters are and what they are and give them a final chapter that felt in the spirit of what we begun? It was too delicious of an opportunity to pass up.”
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Directed by Rian Johnson, Star Wars: The Last Jedi stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, and Frank Oz.
Luke Skywalker’s peaceful and solitary existence gets upended when he encounters Rey, a young woman who shows strong signs of the Force. Her desire to learn the ways of the Jedi forces Luke to make a decision that changes their lives forever. Meanwhile, Kylo Ren and General Hux lead the First Order in an all-out assault against Leia and the Resistance for supremacy of the galaxy.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is now available on Digital, Blu-ray, and DVD, while Star Wars: Episode IX is set to release in theaters on December 20th, 2019.
