Controversial, the Star Wars ending still made money
The ending of the famous “Star Wars” franchise caused intense controversy despite a large investment and brought in no small amount of revenue.
Do the seemingly impossible
After Lucasfilm confirmed that the 9th part of “Star Wars” titled “Star Wars IX: The Rise of Skywalker” (original title Star Wars IX: The rise of Skywalker) is the ending of the attached franchise. This long-standing film has quickly attracted the attention and anticipation of audiences around the world. As the end of a brand that has existed for more than 40 years, the film was “funded” by the producer, investing a budget of 275 million USD. The film is still directed by J.J. Abrams “in charge”, who made part 7 a success with global revenue reaching over 2 billion USD.
The content of the ending continues to tell the story of the war between the Resistance and the First Order, ending the long story of the famous Skywalker lineage on screen from the 1970s to the present. The film’s story is related to two previous sequels, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (2015) and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” (2017). On the New York Time, director J.J. Abrams admitted that ending the story was difficult. He himself had to rewrite the script many times.
In fact, when he directed the 2015 film, J.J. Abrams intended it to be the last and only part he made. Therefore, when invited to make the 9th film, Abrams was worried and somewhat hesitant. Because, this film must meet a series of requirements including: Must end the sequel trilogy, combining many themes and plots of the previous 8 films to form a complete work. This seemed impossible, but in the end, the male director was convinced and accepted to take on this challenge.
The return of director J.J. Abrams made actors like Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac… happy and relieved. Daisy Ridley admitted that she cried with joy when she continued to work with Abrams. “The director brings a feeling of comfort and safety,” the actress shared. Meanwhile, John Boyega is happy because he believes that Abrams will complete the story that the male director started in part 7. “Even as a normal audience, I want to see the story he told. How will it end? “he said on the New York Time.
Another special thing is the return of Hollywood legend Harrison Ford as Han Solo. When inviting Ford to appear again in part 7 of the series, the producer had to pay the actor 76 times more than the main actor. Harrison Ford once said that he was so tired of playing the role of Han Solo in this series that convincing him to return was a big challenge for director Abrams.
Opening up to Vanity Fair, J.J. Abrams said that when he received the invitation to return, all actor Ford asked was “What is my role in the movie?”. The male director had to explain the importance of Han Solo in the film. Contrary to keeping the script secret from the main actors, Abrams had to send the entire script to Harrison Ford to read first before the veteran actor decided whether to accept the film or not.
Intense debate about the ending
What the trio of main actors Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac are most happy about when returning to this film is that they have the opportunity to embark on a new adventure together of the three characters Rey, Finn and Poe. That adventure was even more new when the script was kept secret until the last minute and they only learned about it when they arrived at the filming set. Not to mention, movie dialogue also changes constantly as every day, lines can be rewritten right on the set.
“Closing the ending to say goodbye to “Star Wars” is truly bittersweet. I was very happy when my character continued to develop, but it was also bitter when I had to stop. Every schedule and many other things in my life revolve around the character, but now, I have to go on a new path of my own,” actor John Boyega shared. However, he and his colleagues in the series all hope that one day, they will return with a separate role in “Star Wars”.
Although the actors are enthusiastic, director J.J.’s attempt to do the seemingly impossible. Abrams still causes fierce debate about quality among critics and audiences. The film had to receive “rotten tomatoes” on the famous film review site Rotten Tomatoes when it only received 56% positive reviews from experts. Many people use harsh criticism for this movie and rate it as the worst “resurrection” in “Star Wars” history.
Time Out critic Joshua Rothkopf commented, “The Rise of Skywalker” has a lengthy, heavy plot, similar to the works in the prequel series that George Lucas himself previously produced. He commented: “The spirit of the work is to convey a boring heroism.” In the same opinion, Vanity Fair writer Richard Lawson said that the movie is not fun even though there are a few weak cute moments to add to it.