How Lucas helped Abrams with new 'Star Wars' movie

Filmmaker J.J. Abrams says he consulted George Lucas before writing "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker".

In an interview with IGN, the acclaimed filmmaker, who has also directed the much-anticipated sci-fi movie, has revealed that he discussed his ideas and ambitions for the project with the "Star Wars" creator, reports dailymail.co.uk.

"This movie had a very, very specific challenge, which was to take eight films and give an ending to three trilogies, and so we had to look at what is the bigger story?" Abrams said.

"We had conversations amongst ourselves, we met with George Lucas before writing the script," Abrams added.

"These were things that were in real, not debate, but looking at the vastness of the story and trying to figure out, what is the way to conclude this?" added Abrams, who co-wrote the script with Oscar-winning screenwriter Chris Terrio.

"But it has to work on its own as a movie, it has to be its own thing, it has to be surprising and funny and you have to understand it."

Earlier this month, Abrams admitted he felt emotional when he was asked to direct "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker".

The filmmaker, who directed 2015's "...The Force Awakens", was brought on to the project to replace Colin Trevorrow in September 2017 and Abrams jumped at the chance to complete the trilogy after director Rian Johnson's "...The Last Jedi".

"When Kathy (Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy) called and asked if I'd be interested in coming aboard this movie, I was surprised by how emotional I felt about it," Abrams said.

"I didn't expect to feel the way I did, and the opportunity to finish the story we started was something I couldn't resist," Abrams added.

The first trailer for "...The Rise of Skywalker" was released at Star Wars Celebration in Chicago, which featured the voice of Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) at the end.

When asked about the decision to bring Palpatine back, who was killed in 1983's "...Return of the Jedi" by Darth Vader, Abrams wouldn't offer specifics, but he said the film was quite complex in many ways.

--IANS

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