The Future of Star Wars: Written and Directed by...

My blog is called “The Road to Episode VII” and anticipates a film that people have waited for since 1983. Finally, a follow-up to the beloved original Star Wars trilogy. This film will please fans in a way the prequels never could. But that’s not all. Disney does not only promise us Episode VII, it promises us infinity and beyond. A Star Wars film every year for as long as fans are willing to watch.

Everyone’s eyes, thoughts, and prayers are focused on one man right now: J.J. Abrams. Abrams will give us the first taste of the further adventures of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia. But J.J. isn’t the only one hard at work on a Star Wars film. Today’s article will examine every writer and director who has, thus far, been announced to be working on this new slew of Star Wars films. In this way fans can start studying the works of these filmmakers and decide if they got the right stuff.

Let’s dive right in with J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan. Abrams is famous for launching successful Sci Fi television franchises such as Alias and Lost, though it’s important to remember that he only made the pilots and had very little to do with those shows in the long run. Abrams has directed exactly four films: Mission Impossible III, Star Trek and its sequel Into Darkness, and Super 8. 

Super 8

For those not familiar with Super 8, its centers on a group of young teenagers that witness a train derail. The train is carrying mysterious white cubes and action and mayhem ensue from that point. Super 8 is a coming-of-age film that feels like it is straight out of the eighties. It channels such classics as Goonies and Stand By Me. It’s not a perfect film, but the characters are strong and it doesn’t rely solely on CGI and action. The story has heart.

Where Abrams is relatively new to film, Kasdan is an old hand. He has scripted such masterpieces as “The Empire Strikes Back”, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Return of the Jedi”. After “Jedi” Kasdan received four Academy Award nominations for movies such as “The Big Chill” and “The Accidental Torist”. His most recent films include 2003’s “The Dream Catcher” and 2012’s “Darling Companion”. Kasdan is now 65, but he will be scripting Star Wars films into his seventies because his name is already attached to write episodes 7-9 and at least one of the spin-offs.

Personally, I believe "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (Notice this film has no "Indiana Jones" in front of it, it's just "Raiders of the Lost Ark) may be the greatest film ever produced. Unlike "Empire Strikes Back" you can appreciate it without being bogged down by the rest of the Indiana series. As a stand-alone film it is perfect.

Directing episodes VIII and IX will be Rian Johnson, a multi-award winning director who gave us “Brick”, “Brother’s Bloom” and “Looper”. He also scripted three breaking bad episodes including the memorable “Fly” and “Ozymandias”.

Brick

If you are not familiar with “Brick” you are in for a treat. It stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a high-school student who is trying to solve a mystery involving other high schoolers. But this is NOT a “high school” movie. Brick is a detective story. It is film noir that happens to star a young cast. “Brick” has become a cult classic and viewers who have not seen it are missing out.

Also, if you haven’t seen Breaking Bad… well that’s just wrong!

The next name on our list is Gareth Edwards, who will be directing the 2016 spin-off film which fans speculate is a Boba Fett film. Gareth has directed three films: “End Day”, “Monsters” and the most recent installment of “Godzilla”.

Monsters

My guess is that you might have seen “Godzilla” but you have not seen “Monsters”. For those who haven’t seen “Monsters”, I can recommend it. The story is genius. A NASA deep space probe containing Extra-terrestrial life has crash landed along the US / Mexican border. Meanwhile, a photo-journalist is tasked with getting his bosses daughter out of Mexico. They make their way through the jungles, where aliens lurk around every corner. The film is not a horror, like Aliens. There is more wonder and beauty to these dangerous beasts. It’s more like Frank Darabont’s “The Mist” or even “The Walking Dead”.

The final director that has been announced is Josh Trank rumored to be working on the new “Han Solo” spinoff film. The guy is 29, about 4 months younger than me, and has only directed one film (two if you count the soon-to-be-released Fantastic Four reboot).

Chronicle

His 2012 film “Chronicle” is one of those “found footage” films. It focuses on a teen with telekinesis. I have to admit I’ve never seen the film, but it is highly rated (as opposed to most “found footage” films)


So here, Star Wars Fans, is your homework. I’ve listed several films made by the future Star Wars directors and writers and their IMDB score. Some of these films you have seen, but might be worth a rewatch. Other films you should definitely check out before Episode VII hits cinemas.

Films that you probably have seen include:                           IMDB
The Empire Strikes Back (Written by Lawrence Kasdan)                    8.8
Raiders of the Lost Ark  (Written by Lawrence Kasdan)                      8.6
Return of the Jedi            (Written by Lawrence Kasdan)                     8.0

Mission Impossible 3      (Directed by J.J. Abrams)                             6.8
Star Trek                          (Directed by J.J. Abrams                              8.0
Into Darkness                   (Directed by J.J. Abrams)                            7.9

Films that you may not have seen include:
*Super 8                          (Written and Directed by J.J. Abrams)            7.1

*Brick                             (Written and Directed by Rian Johnson)          7.5
The Brother’s Bloom      (Written and Directed by Rian Johnson)          6.9

Looper                            (Written and Directed by Rian Johnson)           7.5

End Day                         (Written and Directed by Gareth Edwards)       6.3
*Monsters                       (Written and Directed by Gareth Edwards)      6.4

Godzilla                         (Directed by Gareth Edwards)                        6.9

Chronicle                       (Directed by Josh Trank)                                7.1

*Recommended by Brock

2015 - Episode VII -             Written by Lawrence Kasdan & J.J. Abrams    Directed by J.J. Abrams

2016 - Boba Fett Spinoff? -   Written by Lawrence Kasdan & Gary Witta     Directed by Gareth Edwards

2017 - Episode VIII -            Written by Lawrence Kasdan  & Rian Johnson  Directed by Rian Johnson

2018 - Han Solo Spinoff?                                                                           Directed by Josh Trank

2019 - Episode IX                 Written by Lawrence Kasdan & Rian Johnson    Directed by Rian Johnson