Does Lucasfilm need new creative direction?

I do think LucasFilm does need a overhaul and I do feel like the ST was big missed opportunity and they should of used George's treatment. But the question is, if they was to fire KK, who in the industry could take her place? and how do we know if that person would be better? I wish they kept George on as a creative consultant full time. I know he has visit sets and they ask him a few things but it's not the same as him giving a thumbs up or down for a project.

 

I'm happy with the direction they have gone so far AND I think they need a new creative direction. Star Wars cannot continue repeating the same themes, and story arcs without losing its appeal.

If I was in charge, I would try to do the following:

Pair down the storylines (in the movies and on D+) so that they aren't jumping around in time so much. It's very confusing to general audiences, and it keeps the overall franchise from building any momentum. They don't need to completely copy the MCU formula where all the characters eventually crossover into massive events, but they should at least exist in easy to follow, shared timeline (or two at the most).

Introduce more new characters instead of trying to expand upon characters that either never deserved to be in the spotlight, or have already had their stories told. Same goes for trying to expand on the history of people and events we are already familiar with.

Develop new villains and conflicts that move beyond the Jedi/Sith formula.

Explore different genres of stories within the Star Wars Universe.

 

I like this! To go a little further, I'd say for smaller projects rotating directors is fine, so long as a script is in place. Characterization and themes need to stay consistent. For movies following the same set of characters, plan out the overarching story and keep the same team for the entire thing (unless they get burnt out, and then hire someone who can come in and finish the job well, like Ron Howard). Lastly, have a goal to work towards. It doesn't have to be a Big Bad Villain Encounter like Avengers. It could be to civilizations making contact or the road to reconciliation after a war. But HAVE A TANGIBLE GOAL TO WORK TOWARDS so that the audience feels comfortable and secure on the ride.

 

As a huge fan of TFA, SOLO and R1 I still think there needs to be some serious changes at Lucasfilm.

Other than TLJ and the Mandalorian there have been major productions issues, that and the fact that Sequel Trilogy was a complete mess with no plan from the beginning. Considering that the Saga films are the core of the franchise, although financially successful, story wise this was a huge mistake!

 

Yes. Star Wars is currently a dumpster fire.

 

I'd say I'm somewhere in the middle of the road. There are definitely a lot of things I've liked about the new canon, but I also think there's been some degree of mismanagement also. My biggest issue, though, pertains to the inconsistency of the Lucasfilm Story Group, which can either be way too heavy handed and stifle work on a project until either a decision is made after weeks of deliberation that satisfies them or until it suffocates (Battlefront 2 & Visceral's cancelled Star Wars game), or exist solely to try and conjure excuses so that questionable and/or contradictory story choices can somehow be made to fit into the canon (Sith Eternal & the Rebels AT-AT debacle).

While neither of these issues are good to have, the latter would probably be the lesser of the two evils in that at the very least projects that aren't films aren't having to suffer weeks of pedantic "but is this really a costume this character would wear?" nonsense. Because quite frankly time is something that really shouldn't be wasted, especially when it comes to more costly media like video games.

I like that the story group was created for the purpose of having media be more consistent with one another, but at the same time Star Wars is a franchise whose history has always been something of a a mishmash of various, sometimes conflicting, ideas with varying levels of execution. And between what details DICE community managers and former Visceral employees have shared in regards to the story group's involvement with media production, and considering the responses we've gotten regarding story choices with this latest film, I'd say maybe it'd be smoother sailing if we didn't focus too much on continuity.

As George himself once said:

Honestly I don't know how much involvement KK actually has in the creative process, but streamlining isn't necessarily a bad idea.

 

Depends on what you think would give you more creative outcomes.
Would replacing Kathleen mean people who seem content trafficking in nostalgia are hired and they only go after true creatives willing to put their own stamp and twist on the Star Wars universe?

Or do you mean "creative" in the sense of remake the EU?

 

Also, from what I have seen here, they may also need a new person in charge of their product line as the video review of the Skywalker series indicates.

Given how the amount of cynicism (I mean cynicism in the underlying motivations for making films and key decisions therein (hiring actors they know to be popular instead of basing such decisions on their actual ability to perform that specific role)) there is in Hollywood at the moment this is unlikely to be the case. Especially with Disney with its current financial model.


In my mind, the removal of KK could potentially prompt the appointment of a more risk averse creative director to take her place and where would that leave us?

 

Yes and no.
There's lots of good now, with Disney listening to the fans a little more, what with The Mandalorian and The Clone Wars.
But a issues still plague the brand and divide everyone. Even with good, the bad stills looms. A strong leader could get SW back on track.
- Listen to fans. We're the reason you make money!
- Have a sole direction to go in, don't make it up as you go along
- Make content for EVERYONE, not just things for just one target audience
- and help Star Wars Theory out with his Vader fan film.

 

To paraphrase a lecture from Tony Blair I watched on BBC Parliament on the direction of the Labour party and how it has changed over the 120 years of its existence hosted by Kings College London:

• It is a fallacy to vote on individual policies instead of taking into account the fact that they are part of a larger whole
• It is almost universally agreed that everyone wants reform, it is only when you get into the minutiae and the technical aspect of politics and decision making then disagreements start to appear- the devil is in the detail
• Place a greater emphasis on drawing appeal
• If you go into the realm of identity politics and sectarianism you will lose
• Consider how to attract the people you have lost: when Corbyn came to be the leader of the Labour party, people who had been voting Labour for ages had began to vote Conservative- get inside their head and not yours
• The right ideas never work without the right mentality: otherwise you will find yourself sitting comfortably in a bubble of adulation only for said bubble to be pricked when you have to make a tough decision
• Social media is a really shouty place and the first thing in politics is that it is often the case that those who shout loudest don't necessarily deserve to be heard most
• [X] is not a pressure group or an NGO so don't treat it like one, stop trying to appeal to activists and work on 'real people'

Full interview/lecture here:

--- Double Post Merged, Feb 26, 2020, Original Post Date: Feb 26, 2020 ---

I would suggest you find something that does engage with you. Deconstruct what you liked about Star Wars before its perceived state of ruination and look for material that fits under these categories.

 

Nope. I got 5 films that I loved including TLJ which is my favorite of all time. A TV series that was far better then I thought it would be. A TV series that I am very excited about (Cassian). A great animated show in Rebels. A good animated show in Resistance. Finally the return of The Clone Wars. Only question I have is Obi-Wan and I am the minority in the fandom about that. I love Ewan as Obi-Wan, but I just dont see much creative freedom for the show to be that interesting.

 

Myself I would be happy either way, so long as enough time and effort is put into creating compelling stories with characters I can invest in. The same thing that marks the difference between a hand made sausage from a local and trusted butcher who knows your individual tastes and preferences and one borne from a cold and mechanical process. There is no soul in those sausages.

 

Possibly.

 

@Jedi Master Wysk Welcome to the Cantina!

 

I'd say yes.

They say "never change a running system", but the system isn't quite running, it's stumbling. Maybe it is a success in financial terms, but it lags behind its possibilities.
It would be beneficial for Team Disney and Team Star Wars if they would step into something new. (Let's just assume they would do it in a Direction everyone of us likes, bacause thats how the Force works )

 

My Dad used to say "Change is always good".
Maybe he was right... plus, change doesn't necessarily mean to reinvent the wheel. Change does not always have to be drastic.
Sometimes it's just taking something already good and just turn a few little Screws to make it even better.

And there are plenty of Screws to work on, like everywhere in Life .

 

No, because in my opinion, the sequels have been good individually, but as a trilogy, not so much. Everything else released after Disney took over has been good in my opinion.

 

Well the first step would be to stop bending over to corporate executives and the marketing department and focus on the story and filmmaking.

 

I'm a glass half full kinda guy. Could things have been better with more planning and preparation, possibly. The prequels, the Fantastic Beasts movies and the Sydner DCEU had/have one creative mind overseeing them...and plenty of planning/preparation. I'd say that was as much a hindrance to those projects, as it was a help. I've enjoyed all the Disney-era Star Wars movies (to varying degrees) and, considering the state of some modern day Hollywood blockbusters, genuinely believe things could have been much worse. Sat in a cinema in 2008, watching The Clone Wars movie, I didn't even recognise what I was watching as Star Wars. A little part of me died that day and nothing Disney has done has made me feel anything close to that, so I'll take that as a win.