Director J.J. Abrams recently made headlines by again confirming that Lucasfilm had no real direction for the Star Wars sequel trilogy. That was due in large part to the level of control Kathleen Kennedy left in the hands of The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson. For many Star Wars fans, the phrase “creative control” can go one of two ways. When it comes to show runners Jon Favreau (The Mandalorian) and Dave Filoni (The Clone Wars; The Bad Batch), fans applaud the creative turnover to the two, life-long, franchise fans. Talk about Episode VIII or The Acolyte (for which Leslye Headland hired a writer who’s never seen Star Wars) and fans get a little twitchy. So how is the fan base going to feel about Patty Jenkins having full creative control over Rogue Squadron?
Based on some recent comments the Wonder Woman director made to The Hollywood Reporter, they should feel fairly confident. In speaking with the outlet, Patty Jenkins confirmed that the script for Rogue Squadron is all but complete. According to Jenkins, they are “… crewing up, and it’s all going wonderful.” Her comments about the production process, however, are what should inspire Star Wars fans with respect to the new film.
Rogue Squadron, Patty Jenkins look to avoid the pitfalls of Star Wars: The Last Jedi
When asked about the consulting process for the film, Patty Jenkins effectively confirms that her film will avoid the pitfall of which J.J. Abrams was so critical:
“It’s an entirely different way of working. I’m on the phone with all of them and doing Zoom meetings with everybody involved in Star Wars all the time. I’m fairly free to do the story that we want to do, but you really need to know who’s done what, who’s doing what, where it goes and how it works, and what designs have been done before. It’s a whole other way of working that I’m getting up to speed on.”
That’s a refreshing bit of news. Rogue Squadron, after all, holds its own, special place in Star Wars lore. Michael Stackpole’s book series of the same name remains some of the most beloved Legends (Expanded Universe) content out there. That Patty Jenkins is taking the time to learn about and understand the franchise certainly gives fans hope.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter