Abrams says next Star Wars script is ‘already’ written
LOS ANGELES: ‘Star Wars’ fans will be relieved to know that preparations for the sequel to ‘The Force Awakens’ are under control.
There’s still a more than a month of impatient waiting to go before the world gets to see The Force Awakens, but director J.J. Abrams says that the Star Wars producers aren’t resting on their laurels, revealing that the script for Episode VIII is already written.
Abrams, 49, conducted a lengthy interview with Wired, in which he revealed that the eighth movie of the franchise is taking shape quickly. Though it will be directed by Rian Johnson, Abrams has already announced that he’s taking an executive producer’s role, and has shared a first look at the script with Johnson.
“The script for VIII is written. I’m sure rewrites are going to be endless, like they always are… We had meetings with Rian and Ram Bergman, the producer of VIII. They were watching dailies when we were shooting our movie. We wanted them to be part of the process, to make the transition to their film as seamless as possible.”
This certainly seems like a wise decision, as Episode VIII is apparently supposed to be released in cinemas in May 2017, just 17 months after the first instalment. Principal photography is due to start in Ireland in March 2016.
“I showed Rian an early cut of the movie, because I knew he was doing his rewrite and prepping,” Abrams continued. “And as executive producer of VIII, I need that movie to be really good. Withholding serves no one and certainly not the fans. So we’ve been as transparent as possible.”
“Rian has asked for a couple things here and there that he needs for his story… the story he told took what we were doing and went in the direction he felt was best but that is very much in line with what we were thinking as well.”
Abrams was also full of praise for the new generation of young actors who’ll be gracing The Force Awakens, alongside old hands such as Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hammill.
“Despite their having been born horrifically recently, these kids knew about and understood Star Wars in a way we all do; they just were born into it as opposed to it happening during their lifetime. The key in casting them was finding people who were able to do everything.”
“When you think about all that these characters go through, not just in this movie but knowing their work would continue, these individuals needed to be worthy bearers of this burden and opportunity to continue to tell the story.”