David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Will Not Go to a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Common sense is all one needs to realize that obviously it was.

 

Yet the show did fabulously. I for one who loved the books still loved the show although I had some problems with the last 2 seasons. Yet nothing so much that I disliked the show ending or decided to be an Peedunky about it. Primarily the negative came about happened during the last season. Then toxic reared its ugly, ugly head.

Star Wars toxic fans have chased away creative people and until era of fandom learns you cant always get what you want then you will get what you deserve (Not even a big Rolling Stones fan and that works). Unfortunately what toxic fandom is going to get is lots of vanilla ice cream.

 

The exodus of creative talent from the Star Wars franchise is actually indicative to me of the unparalleled greatness of the original works. I don’t think the long list of writers, producers and directors have left the franchise because of the fandom or problems working with Kathleen Kennedy and her team. I think most have left for primarily two key reasons:


1. It is tremendously HARD to make a great Star Wars film; and

2. Working within the inherent constraints of the creative property is especially challenging for artists accustomed to wide creative latitude


The reason it is so hard to make a great Star Wars film is that each one is measured against the Original Trilogy. For all its flaws, the Original Trilogy was so compelling on so many levels: on a visceral level it utilized the cinematic medium to make the eternal “Hero’s Journey” relevant in a cynical world. It totally transformed the way audiences watch action sequences and visual effects. It unabashedly allowed grown adults to feel the excitement and delight of childhood. Making an exciting action movie for modern audiences is hard. Doing all of the above is tremendously harder.


Given how hard it is to make a great Star Wars film, it’s no wonder Disney/Lucasfilm has tried to recruit visionary creatives. But the people who have reached the top of their craft are largely people who have pushed the boundaries of the cinematic medium and achieved their own aesthetic style. All of the aspects of the Star Wars property that have made it so enduring have now become creative constraints to people used to having more free reign.


The franchise in some ways would probably benefit more from talented TV creatives who weren’t necessarily showrunners: staff writers and episode directors who have spent their careers moving in and out of different series. These people are accustomed to understanding the constraints and opportunities of different properties. They understand the development process and understand when an idea is met with a “hard no” on a given series, and they come up with a better idea the next day.


Perhaps it actually is too hard to make a great Star Wars film again, especially one that taps in so viscerally to audiences. Hopefully that’s not true. Regardless, Lucasfilm is in a position where they need to keep producing them, great or not. I’ll keep watching them, great or not. Fortunately, we all still always have the Original Trilogy.

 

Haha, right?

Imagine Iger reading this thread like, "Ohhhh, our movies need to be better! I get it now. Okay boys, let's stop purposely holding back and focus on trying to make something good now. Apparently the kids want these movies to be good, must be some new fad."


Joking aside, I get where this is coming from. I've enjoyed the new movies, but hey, I'm not gonna argue against getting as polished as products as possible. It's just... can we have a little nuance when discussing stuff like this?

 

I dont know if the exodus has all be real creative good talent. I do believe that at the beginning Kathleen Kennedy and LucasFilm wanted to do two things. Get the new saga kicked off with a proven talented person. JJ Abrams was if not the 1st target he was one of the 1st. He originally said no, but Kathleen Kennedy kept at it. Then she wanted to pick up and coming filmmakers. She kinda wanted to bring forward the next George Lucas or Steven Spielberg.

So with JJ firmly in place for EP7 she started looking for other up and coming filmmakers. Rian Johnson was really next to be found and the most experienced of the next group she found. He had a real good body of work. So he was a good fit to continue the saga films and he was some say he was picked to direct 8 and 9. Then they thought it would be better to have another director work on 9 and when Jurassic World was a huge hit Colin Trevorrow was a safe bet. Turns out he really wasnt.

For the standalone films they seemed to go even younger and unproven with Gareth Edwards and Josh Trank which if I recall correctly had each directed one film each at the time. Then for Solo they picked another hot young talented duo.

Multiple bumps and bruises later I do believe the trying to find the next George Lucas is not in the cards any longer. It will be tried and true directors and directors who 1st work on Star Wars TV shows.

 

Well said Ewok Medicine Man.

I completely agree. The shadow of the OT will always be there, like Vader’s silhouette to remind creators of the glory that was the first trilogy. However, it behooves fans to adjust and let the various shades of SW caste their shadow. We will always have the OT, it like the Chalice will be in our hearts and library. But we need to be open to other tales; I remember when I reacted to The Tales of the Jedi and Dark Empire because they were devoid of the optimism, and child like joy. I then came to accept these dark incarnations as a different shade of SW.

The Prequels and Sequels have a different place in my heart, I love them “no more, no less” than the OT because I do not compare them. They are different shades, different parts of the Saga, and they explore A Galaxy, Far, Far, Away... in new ways. I choose to embrace all the shades and forms of SW; I have favorites to be sure, but I am not threatened or viciously oppose to those shades that arn’t my taste.