Lawrence Kasdan on The New STAR WARS Trilogy Ending and The "Crazy Different" Han Solo Movie
Lawrence Kasdan is one of the true masterminds behind the Star Wars franchise. He co-wrote The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. He's also currently writing the Han Solo spinoff film that's in development.
During an interview with the LA Times, Kasden talked about the saga and revealed that he doesn't know how exactly the trilogy he started with Abrams will end. The interview was conducted back in October, but the interview was just released.
When asked if he and Abrams had mapped out the next chapters in the saga while collaborating on the film's script, Kasdan revealed:
"Not really. ['The Force Awakens'] sets up a lot of stuff. There’s a lot of people to deal with. And Rian took on that job and he’s going to change it, because he’s Rian. And I’m sure Colin will change what Rian does."
When talking about Rian Johnson and Colin Trevorrow taking over the next two film in the saga, Kadan previously said:
"These movies will all be so different. [Episode VIII director] Rian Johnson is a friend of mine — he's going to make some weird thing. If you've seen Rian's work, you know it's not going be like anything that's ever been in Star Wars. You couldn't have three more different people than J.J., Rian and [Episode IX director] Colin [Trevorrow]. Those movies will have the Star Wars saga as their basis, but everything else will be different. Then Phil Lord and Chris Miller are going to make the Han Solo film and I can't guess what that will be like — and I'm writing it!"
At the time he had no idea where this new trilogy would take these new characters, but he probably has a better idea now that Johnson has completed his script for Episode VIII that the producers and actors have already read. Kasdan went on to say:
"We talked about [the ending] -- and there’s a certain thing that people who are involved with it feel should happen. There’s a kind of movement that happens. But it's not in your control. It’s going to veer off with Rian, and it’s going to veer off another way with Colin."
I guess we'll just have to wait and see what that "certain thing" he mentions is. The writer goes on to talk about the Han Solo film he's working on and talks about its directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and how they are going to make something different:
“Those guys are geniuses in their own right, and they did something with ‘The Lego Movie’ that no one had ever seen. I think the Han movie is going to be crazy different, and I haven’t got a clue what it will be. We’re so far from putting it on film.”
While talking about the Han Solo movie in a separate interview with Empire Film Podcast (via MakingStarWars.net), Kasdan tells fans not to be worried. This isn't going to be your typical origin film.
“I think it won’t be the thing you’re worried about. It will not be like here is where he was born and this is how he was raised. I think what it will be is what was he like ten years earlier, ya know maybe a little earlier you’ll get a glimpse but…what formed the person we meet in the cantina? It is not so much about his specific history. It is about what makes a person like that? He’s not full formed in the cantina! Kurosawa once said ‘the heroes are the ones that are still changing and the villains are locked and petrified into what they are’ and Harrison embodies in Force Awakens someone that’s still not settled on who he is.”
It sounds like the film is going to focus on some major developments in Solo's life that made him the man he became. With Kasden spearheading the writing process and Lord and Miller helming the film, I'm confident that they'll make sure fans get a film that won't ruin the character that we've loved all these years.
The Han Solo spin-off is set to be released on May 25th, 2018.