J.J. Abrams Says He Was More Daring With Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker

– In an interview with Total Film, Star Wars director J.J. Abrams discussed how he was more daring with Rise of Skywalker

“On this one, I let myself be, at least in the way I was approaching the thing, freer. In Episode 7, I was adhering to a kind of approach that felt right for Star Wars in my head. It was about finding a visual language, like shooting on locations and doing practical things as much as possible. And we continue that in Episode 9, but I also found myself doing things that I’m not sure I would have been as daring to do on Episode 7. Rian helped remind me that that’s why we’re on these movies – not to just do something that you’ve seen before. I won’t say that I felt constrained or limited on 7, but I found myself wanting to do something that felt more consistent with the original trilogy than not. And on 9, I found myself feeling like I’m just gonna go for it a bit more.”

Rian Johnson directed Episode 8, taking risks that received mixed reviews from fans.