The director question was brought up before in "Who would be best to direct the re-prequels" (and I'd honestly wish they'd do that instead of 7+) and my answer came up Zack Snyder. I think it still stands for sequels too - my main consideration was who could make something with the same visual oomph as Star Wars in the modern era of CG. The fact that his career is mostly based on giving beloved franchises a respectable film outing, even in cases when they really shouldn't have been up there in the first place, helps immensely.
There's a reason my recommendations were all dudes who do cool puppets and makeup. I'm sure there's bound to be plenty of CG in the next outing but I really love the homemade feel of the old Star Wars flicks best.
As far as writing around the idea of writing around the old characters... well, not to be rude, but I'd really hate to see elderly Hamill, elderly Ford and especially elderly Fisher prancing around in their old outfits. I haven't seen Crystal Skull so I don't have that idea of what it might look like but... nope.
I don't think they should be in their old outfits at all (well, maybe Luke). I think having them look and dress like they're thirty years older is the point.
I don't want something like the various Die Hard/Rambo/Rocky/Indy sequels where the hero comes out of retirement for One Last Mission. I want them firmly settled down -- they're not rebels anymore, they're leaders, even if they're uneasy as hell in those roles.
Certainly no buns for Leia. Have her dress and look like a weary matron. Have Han looking uncomfortable as fuck in a suit. Seriously, I am damned enamored of the idea of Han Solo playing the role of Davos Seaworth. A guy who Does Not Belong There and he knows it and everybody else knows it but he and Leia are simultaneously aware that that is precisely why he NEEDS to be there.
My biggest problem with speculating is that, really, the OT wrapped things up with a bow and the Prequels went and put a lock on it. The bullshit prophecy is fulfilled, evil Jedis are dead forever, Jar-Jar eesa free. I can't come up with a satisfying continuation that isn't "We need your help against the NEW, STRONGER enemy!" that doesn't feel like some sort of animu asspull. At the very least, it undermines the idea that all the Star Wars up to the Tossing of the Emperor have been this one, multigenerational, epic struggle between Dark and Not-Dark.
That IS the biggest problem. The Emperor's down, Vader's down, and there's never going to be another Big Bad that big. I mean, I don't really give a damn about the bullshit prophecy or Midichlorians, and the idea that the series is about Anakin Skywalker's character arc was a nice idea up until Lucas made those three movies about Anakin Skywalker having no fucking character arc. But yeah, the OT ALREADY has a problem with the "Where the hell do we go from there?" question. (Teddy bears & second Death Star.)
You CAN'T top Vader and the Emperor, and this IS an inherent problem with the idea of a third trilogy. But since it's happening, yeah, I'm throwing out a few entirely realistic scenarios that acknowledge that wars are messy and just because you took the Big Enemy down doesn't mean they're over. I mentioned the Wild West, but the War of 1812 might be a better analogy.
I think it can work if they don't TRY to top the original trilogy with a Bigger, Badder Big Bad but just present it as a new story that occurs afterward -- another story in the same universe rather than a straight-up attempt at a Third Act in an existing story. (I believe it was Kershner who said that Episode 4 wasn't called "episode 4" because Lucas actually intended from the beginning to make 3 prequels, but simply as a nod to the old sci-fi serials. Treat Star Wars like that, as an ongoing series of adventures instead of a three-act saga of three-act sagas, and I think you've probably got the right idea.)
Course, if that's the route we want to go then there's an argument to be made to get as far away from the original timeline as possible. Jump way the fuck into the future and call it Episode 37. Or jump way back in the timeline, Old Republic or even Dawn of the Jedi, and abandon the number scheme entirely.
Zack Synder is the best director I know of for turning comic books into movies, but his record with original stories - even original stories within an established canon - is ... spotty.
Well, and it bears adding that he's known for very direct adaptations of comics rather than any attempt at creating a new interpretation of an existing story. If you want to frame it in terms of the latter, I'd say he ranks below Raimi, Singer, Vaughn, Favreau, Nolan, and Whedon (and even if you're just looking at straight-across adaptations I'd rank him below Rodriguez).
On the other other hand, the single best sequence in Watchmen is the opening titles, which is also the most notable scene that's NOT an adaptation of the comic.
The weird thing is what the fuck does he even want with it? On the surface of things, he's got loads of money (not BILLIONS of course, but still...) and owns everything he wants to. Is there some unsung dream he has that he's never told anyone about?
I mean, I understand that there are lots of I CAN NEVER EVER HAVE ENOUGH types, but for all his other faults, Lucas never struck me as that kind of guy. His whole thing for decades was that he wanted total independence from the Studios, to be his own man with nobody to say boo or otherwise.
Unless he really has decided to "hand off the reins"? But as Buge points out, that's quite the 180 given his many past statements.
Well, not entirely. Over the last few years he's increasingly remarked that he wants to get away from Star Wars and he's tired of all the hate the fandom has directed his way.
I think it's exactly like Peter Laird's decision to sell off the TMNT: this has been his life for decades, and it's turned from something he loved into something that's a chore. He's no longer an artist, he's the CEO of a media empire. And he's decided maybe he should leave the CEO'ing to the CEO's and go back to being an artist.
The difference between him and Laird is, well, close on two orders of magnitude. TMNT sold for around $60M; LucasFilm is selling for over $4B. There are similar differences in the cost of the art they produce -- Laird said that TMNT vol 4 and Tales vol 2 sold at a loss and he was paying for them out of his own pocket just because he enjoyed doing it; he's got even more freedom to do stuff like that now. Lucas -- I think he wants to make more personal projects like Red Tails, and given that Red Tails was a critical and box office failure, four billion dollars is going to allow him to make and release whatever the hell movies he wants for the rest of his life even if he can't find a studio to put up the money. There's also his
philanthropic efforts -- and the point that he's got ten years on Laird and pushing seventy is bound to give you a certain perspective on things.
Plus I don't think this is really going to be a big change from what he's been doing since Episode 3 came out anyway -- he'll keep acting as Consultant on spinoff media, he'll keep rereleasing the existing damn movies every few years. Nothing really changes for him; the stuff he wants to do still gets done. It's just that other people are going to be making more stuff, too.
And maybe we'll get the original theatrical trilogy in HD.
