Facing criticism that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker takes back the events of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, writer Chris Terrio speaks out. The Star Wars sequel trilogy, which began with 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has shown the vision of several different writers and directors. The first film was directed and co-written by J.J. Abrams, as was Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. However, the most recent movie also features a story credit for Colin Trevorrow, who was originally hired to write and direct before departing due to creative differences.
The middle film in the sequel trilogy, 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, was created by a different person entirely. Rian Johnson both wrote and directed the film that proved to be divisive among Star Wars fans. Due to the changes in writers and directors throughout the sequel trilogy, some believe it isn’t as cohesive as it could have been. In the two weeks since its release, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has proven to be just as contentious as Star Wars: The Last Jedi, especially because some believe that it undoes the work of Johnson’s film.
In an interview with TheWrap, Terrio addressed accusations that his script retcons the events of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Speaking specifically about the film, Terrio said, “We thought that was a more dramatically interesting predicament for Episode IX, not only that everything is resolved and that Rey is at peace with her past, but that she has even worse information than Episode VIII." He also elaborated on the connection between the two films, stating, “I think it’s a development of dramatic ideas, and it’s not a rejection. And I think that when critics try to act as though our film is some sort of spat between two directors, they’re not understanding how writers think.” Terrio’s comments seem to call out those who think there are issues between Johnson and Abrams for the differences between the movies.
Despite problems that fans and critics alike may have with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, it isn’t stopping them from turning out to see the film. It easily won the box office in its opening weekend, despite having the worst start of the sequel trilogy. In the following days, many people have compared the movie’s gross to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which it’s still falling short of. The holiday weekend especially caused the final film in the Skywalker saga to trail the box office return of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. However, the new film still has several weeks to go in theaters.
In many ways, the comparisons to the previous film have hurt the reception of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. There are fierce defenders of Star Wars: The Last Jedi who are bothered by what they saw in the new movie, feeling that it takes away from the previous film. Terrio’s explanation may help with some of those feelings, but Star Wars fans are a passionate bunch. There will likely be many who still believe that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker undid the events of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and nothing Terrio or anyone else says will change their minds.
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Source: TheWrap
