Q&As About 'Star Wars': Why did Kathleen Kennedy let Rian Johnson throw away J.J. Abrams’ Episode VIII script if she was going to hire him back for Episode IX?

Cover art for Marvel Comics' omnibus edition of The Last Jedi comics adaptation. © 2018 Marvel Comics and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)

On Quora, member Michael Justin asks:

Why did Kathleen Kennedy let Rian Johnson throw away J.J. Abrams’ Episode VIII script if she was going to hire him back for Episode IX?

This question, like so many others like it, is based on a basic assumption that seems to be popular among many “fans” who get their information almost exclusively from YouTube or bloggers whose views they share.

The assumption: That J.J. Abrams had a detailed plan for the Sequel Trilogy, even had scripts for all three Episodes, and that this grand plan was wrecked by Rian Johnson with Star Wars - Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. And clueless, SJW Princess Kathleen Kennedy let Johnson ruin Star Wars.

Oh, you poor deluded child.

First of all, just as George Lucas did not write a ginormous 360-page screenplay with all the beats and plot twists of the Original Trilogy carefully planned in advance, and that he only broke it in three so he could get Star Wars made in the mid-1970s, the myth that Lucasfilm had, in 2015, three completed scripts ready to be filmed by J.J. Abrams, Rian Johnson,and Colin Trevorrow is that, a myth.

Granted, it is possible that the company might have had at its disposal George Lucas’s story treatment for Episodes VII, VIII, and IX, but since Lucasfilm has stated on several occasions that the new trilogy is not based directly on Lucas’s ideas, that is an irrelevant factor.

Truth is, sweet summer child, that Lawrence Kasdan and J.J. Abrams (and before that, Michael Arndt) focused solely on The Force Awakens. That’s all J.J. wanted to do as far as Star Wars was concerned: he would kick off the Sequel Trilogy with the set up film, leave plot threads hanging for Rian Johnson, offer his services as Episode VIII’s executive producer (one of several, in fact), but really focus his energies on Star Trek and other Bad Robot Productions projects. He did not have a 120-page screenplay filed away in Lucasfilm’s archives, nor was he unaware of Johnson’s story ideas or screenplay.

I will repeat this, using as few big words as I can, and as clearly as I can:

There. Was. No. Abrams-written. Script. For. Episode VIII.

There. Was. No. Grand. Plan.

People who insist that Kathleen Kennedy was somehow “duped” by Rian Johnson into “letting” him “throw away J.J. Abrams’ script and film his own version of The Last Jedi are either misinformed wannabe Star Wars storytellers who are upset that they didn’t get a film that conformed to their theories, sexist idiots who think they can do better than Kennedy at crafting a film series, or a combination of the two.

The movie industry simply does not work that way. Clearly not in the Big Leagues of major studios, and definitely not when you are talking about one of the most experienced-with-Star Wars companies (Lucasfilm), many of whose senior staff worked with George “the Maker” Lucas for decades. And saying that Kennedy, Lucas’s chosen successor, is somehow so incompetent that a director can go “rogue” and make his own movie without anyone in Lucasfilm’s executive suite knowing about it is not only stupid, but sexist as well. (Because, you know, a guy created Star Wars, and only guys can understand Star Wars.)

Also, J.J. Abrams was not originally slated to direct Episode IX. Like NASA assigned specific astronauts to its Apollo moon-bound missions, Lucasfilm had assigned specific directors to the rotation. In 2015 that rotation looked like this:

1. Star Wars - Episode VII: The Force Awakens, J.J. Abrams
2. Star Wars - Episode VIII (not yet titled), Rian Johnson
3. Star Wars - Episode IX: (not yet titled), Colin Trevorrow

So, tell me, my friend. Based on this information, how do you come up with the “Oh, Kennedy knew Abrams was coming back to direct Episode IX” nonsense?

It wasn’t until 2017 that we learned that Trevorrow was leaving (or was fired from) his post as IX director due to the difficulties of rewriting his Leia-centric script after Carrie Fisher’s death in December of 2016. And by then, The Last Jedi was almost finished and in post-production. Kathleen Kennedy had to ask Abrams to go back to Star Wars…and his return was not a sure thing, according to interviews with the director that I’ve read recently.

Movies are pretty complicated things. Again, I emphasize that in Big Studio Moviemaking, a director has to answer to an army’s worth of people. When George Lucas made the first film in the 1970s, it wasn’t just him, Gary Kurtz, Gilbert Taylor, and a band of camera operators, sound techs, and John Williams off in a corner humming Star Wars themes into a kazoo, either in Tunisia, Guatemala, Death Valley, or Elstree Studios in London. The crew was larger than that. (Don’t take my word for it; check out the “End Titles” and read all those names and job titles as John Williams’ score plays in the background.) Plus, he had to deal on a regular basis with 20th Century Fox execs, a humorless bunch who did not understand “that science movie” and reluctantly provided $11 million for the making of it. (This is why 20th Century Fox owns the first film: the studio would finance it as well as release it. Lucasfilm did the grunt work, but it was a vassal to Fox, not an independent production company.)

So when Rian Johnson and his team were up next in the rotation for their Episode, the incoming director did not read a (non-existent) Abrams script and say to himself, sotto voce, I don’t like this story. Fuck it. I am just gonna go make my own, not tell anyone what the hell I’m doing, and when I’m done, I’m just gonna say, “Hey, here’s MY damn movie. Don’t like it? Tough. You already have a December 2017 release date set; there’s no way you can make ANOTHER movie in time. (Evil laugh.)”

Again, I repeat. In Big Studio level of moviemaking, directors are never autonomous. They have to account for every damn thing they use or do, whether it’s ordering a part for a damaged camera, more costumes for alien extras or doing a revision on a screenplay. Directors and film crews cannot, repeat, can not go off on location or rent expensive soundstages and do whatever they want, whenever they want, and not have to report to the executive producers (including, in case you forgot, J.J. Abrams).

Don’t believe me? Then go ask David Fincher to tell you about his experiences with 20th Century Fox when he directed Alien 3.

A word of advice: Don’t rely on YouTube video channels or fan bloggers with an ax to grind for accurate Star Wars info.