Star Wars: J.J. Abrams Felt “Freer” On The Rise Of Skywalker

There’s just over a month to go before the ninth and final chapter of the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, J.J. Abrams, has been speaking about his approach to bringing the film to the screen.

In an interview in the new issue of Total Film magazine (The Force Awakens – with which he kickstarted the sequel trilogy – and his saga-capper, itting that he found himself “wanting to do something that felt more consistent with the original trilogy than not” when he was making Episode 7. He revealed that he felt “freer” when it came to The Rise Of Skywalker and made creative choices “that I’m not sure I would have been as daring to do on [The Force Awakens].”

Abrams went on to credit Rian Johnson—writer-director of The Last Jedi—as the inspiration for the change in his approach. “Rian helped remind me that that’s why we’re on these movies—not to just do something that you’ve seen before,” he said. “On [Episode] 9, I found myself feeling like I’m just gonna go for it a bit more…”

While it’s fair to say that Johnson’s work on The Last Jedi split opinion somewhat (probably the understatement of the year), it nonetheless showcased a willingness on his (and the studio’s) part to be bold and try new things with the much-loved franchise. From the sound of this, it seems like Abrams is taking the baton and running with it, aiming to offer something fresh for the saga’s grand finale while at the same time appealing to the franchise’s core fanbase.

The film is already on course for an impressive cinematic debut, with tracking specialists apparently still on track.

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker opens Dec. 20th.