J.J. Abrams has returned to the Star Wars fold to direct The Rise of Skywalker, a film that will complete the current trilogy in the long-running sci-fi series. While rumours have swirled that Abrams was planning a course-correction following Rian Johnson's much-maligned The Last Jedi, however, Abrams has insisted that the two films work well together.
Speaking with ET Canada, Abrams insisted that The Last Jedi did not ruin the arc of the Skywalker trilogy in any way.
"The story that we're telling, the story that we started to conceive when we did The Force Awakens was allowed to continue," he said. "Episode VIII didn't really derail anything that we were thinking about."
Among the many criticisms lodged against Johnson's film was the decision to kill off Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), who many had hoped would be the final villain in the third film of the franchise. According to Abrams, however, that was always the plan.
It sort of makes sense that Abrams would say this. After all, he still served as an executive producer on the film and likely knew exactly what was going on each step of the way.
The Rise of Skywalker will hit cinemas on December 20.
Speaking with ET Canada, Abrams insisted that The Last Jedi did not ruin the arc of the Skywalker trilogy in any way.
"The story that we're telling, the story that we started to conceive when we did The Force Awakens was allowed to continue," he said. "Episode VIII didn't really derail anything that we were thinking about."
Among the many criticisms lodged against Johnson's film was the decision to kill off Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), who many had hoped would be the final villain in the third film of the franchise. According to Abrams, however, that was always the plan.
It sort of makes sense that Abrams would say this. After all, he still served as an executive producer on the film and likely knew exactly what was going on each step of the way.
The Rise of Skywalker will hit cinemas on December 20.
