J.J. Abrams’ Editor Feels The Last Jedi ‘Consciously’ Undid The Force Awakens Story

During a recent episode of the Light the Fuse podcast (via CinemaBlend), J.J. Abrams’ longtime editor Mary Jo Markey shared that she thinks Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi undid the narrative set up by Abrams in The Force Awakens.

When the conversation veered towards Johnson’s The Last Jedi script, Markey, according to IndieWire, said: “It’s very strange to have the second film so consciously undo the storytelling of the first one. I’m sorry that’s what it felt like. I don’t even feel that’s true about the third film. It took where the second film ended and just tried to tell a story. I didn’t feel like it was consciously trying to undo — it just didn’t feel that way to me.”

Markey’s The Force Awakens co-editor Maryann Brandon joined her on the podcast, and when she attempted to say she enjoyed some parts of The Last Jedi, Markey said Brandon wasn’t telling the truth.

“It’s a completely different take on the Star Wars saga,” said Brandon. “To Rian’s credit, he stuck to what he wanted to do. He wanted to deconstruct the saga and open it up to go in a different direction. That is the film he made. I know it’s controversial. Isn’t that kind of good in a way? You bring in new elements. That’s why I say I feel very much in hindsight that the trilogy, the last part of the trilogy, needed one vision.”

Brandon added that “it’s really polarizing” and that it was hard for Abrams “and the co-writer to decide what to do [after] with it. It’s like if someone wrote the middle of your novel. Now how do you get the end of the novel?”

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Returning cast members for The Rise of Skywalker include Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo and Billie Lourd. Joining the cast are Naomi Ackie (Doctor Who), Richard E. Grant (Logan), Dominic Monaghan (Lord of the Rings), and Keri Russell (The Americans), who will also be joined by veteran Star Wars actors Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels and Billy Dee Williams, who will reprise his role as Lando Calrissian. The role of Leia Organa is once again played by Carrie Fisher, using previously unreleased footage shot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

In addition to directing, J.J. Abrams co-wrote the screenplay with Chris Terrio (Argo, Justice League). Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, and Abrams will produce, with Callum Greene and Jason McGatlin executive producing. Composer John Williams, who has scored every chapter in the Star Wars saga since 1977’s A New Hope, will return to a galaxy far, far away with Rise of Skywalker.

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is available for digital purchase now and can be picked up on 4K UHD and Blu-ray by clicking here!

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