Adam Chitwood, writing for Collider, has an article that has Star Wars fans in an uproar. Chitwood simply asked if the last Star Wars trilogy would have benefitted from having a plan from the very beginning?

“I’ve been involved in a number of projects that have been — in most cases, series — that have ideas that begin the thing where you feel like you know where it’s gonna go, and sometimes it’s an actor who comes in, other times it’s a relationship that as-written doesn’t quite work, and things that you think are gonna just be so well-received just crash and burn and other things that you think like, ‘Oh that’s a small moment’ or ‘That’s a one-episode character’ suddenly become a hugely important part of the story. I feel like what I’ve learned as a lesson a few times now, and it’s something that especially in this pandemic year working with writers [has become clear], the lesson is that you have to plan things as best you can, and you always need to be able to respond to the unexpected. And the unexpected can come in all sorts of forms, and I do think that there’s nothing more important than knowing where you’re going.”You just never really know, but having a plan I have learned — in some cases the hard way — is the most critical thing, because otherwise you don’t know what you’re setting up. You don’t know what to emphasize. Because if you don’t know the inevitable of the story, you’re just as good as your last sequence or effect or joke or whatever, but you want to be leading to something inevitable.”

Um, no shit?

I know exactly who to blame for this, and I’m flabbergasted this person is still in the employ of Lucasfilm/Disney. Abrams did his level best, but the lack of overall direction for the three films showcases why not having a proper vision and visionary at the helm hurts the films creatively. There is a lot of good stuff going on in the films, and they are cast really, really well. However, they could have been so much better.

I believe Disney has recognized the error and corrected it with who they’ve named as the new Executive Creative Director.