Rando Calrissian #39

Movies that weren't and posters that were

It’s time for a Galactic grab bag!

Turns out, one of the many Star Wars projects that will not exist is The Hunt for Ben Solo, a Star Wars movie developed and pitched by Adam Driver and Steven Soderbergh, alongside some of his regular collaborators, like screenwriter Rebecca Blunt. I am, clearly, the very last person in the Star Wars commentariat to speak to this; but speak to it I shall.

My first thought about this is not all that interesting: it would have been a pretty cool movie. But, then again, I think that about every Star Wars movie that’s been dangled as a possibility in front of me over the years. It’s fun to think about the What Ifs of Star Wars, and the could-haves. What if David Lynch had directed Return of the Jedi? What if Obi-Wan Kenobi had been a movie instead of a series? What if The Acolyte had been given a second season? What if George Lucas’s original idea for a Star Wars TV show had come to fruition? What if Damon Lindeloff’s Rey movie script had gotten the greenlight? We’re told certain things about future projects, official announcements are made on a shareholder schedule, but that’s just the glacier’s tip. It sounds like there are swirling conversations going on all the time with interested parties who would like to move a Star Wars project forward, some of which we never hear about on the internet’s rumor mill.

I think the hand wringing and gnashing of teeth around this, frankly, is just another excuse for some of the fandom to treat Lucasfilm’s corporate owners as if they’re standing in the way of everything cool. I tend to tune out when someone blames “Disney,” it’s almost a tell.

Maybe this is instructive, though, for those same voices. Is it possible that Lucasfilm and Disney are not exactly the same company? That they should not be used interchangeably? If the leaked stories are to be believed (and really, anything that’s not directly from Soderbergh and Driver should be treated with skepticism), the project was approved by the Lucasfilm braintrust and then stopped at the upper echelon of the parents company.

And, it’s got some slow news day energy. There’s not a lot of other Star Wars news flying around, so this news is getting a lot of oxygen and some hijinks. (My Lord, a Times Square ad?)

I think it’s kind of hilarious that many of the very same people who openly mocked “Somehow Palpatine Returned” are decrying the loss of a movie about Very Dead, Totally Disappeared into the Force Ben Solo. People, it’s thematically resonant that Palpatine returned: the Sith cheat death. Ben Solo’s death was a noble sacrifice! It was his redemption! Get your unbreakable rules about storytelling straight! Can characters come back to life or not?

Consistency aside (it’s really too much to ask, I know). There’s a piece of news here that’s hopeful: Adam Driver would love to play Ben Solo again. And we would all love him to. It’s been heartening to see how many members of the Rey-Trilogy cast are increasingly open to returning to the Star Wars universe. We’re hearing that from Oscar Isaac on the Frankenstein promotional circuit (it’s great by the way, especially if you like a hand-made aesthetic); and as usual John Boyega is sending the world sound bites willy-nilly. These actors have proceeded their time away and seem interested in another shot at these characters. I’m all for it.

And, cheek aside, (will I really put it aside?) I feel your pain fellow fans. Steven Soderbergh is one of the all-time great directors and he and Driver appeared to revere The Empire Strikes Back. But Soderbergh’s not known as a visual painter: he’s an efficient, smart composer of cinematic stories. He’s directed more than 35 individual films, stories about people. I can’t think of a Soderbergh movie that relies on visual effects to make something compelling, which means he’s a great choice for a story about the conflicted Ben Solo, should this campaign change a mind or two on the corporate side.

For me, the lost film’s title brings to mind The Search for Spock, the extremely Star Trek-y Star Trek follow up to the best Star Trek film every made, Wrath of Khan. It’s nowhere near as profound and memorable as Star Trek II, but it’s also incredible, a fun story about Spock rapidly re-aging on a dying planet, with a memorable appearance by Christopher Lloyd as the main villain. It also has my favorite ever Kirk line reading: “You Klingon bastard, you’ve killed my son.” (You kind of have to see it to get it, but of course, if you’re reading this, you have.)

The difference? The seeds of Spock’s return were planted in Star Trek II. I don’t know exactly how The Rise of Skywalker plants those seeds? Kylo turns back into Ben, Ben shows up with Solo swagger and Big Skywalker Energy, he quips and kisses and sacrifices himself, literally disappearing into the Force after giving Rey his life force. The guy is very dead! (I know, I know, no one’s ever really gone.)

Maybe there would have been a kind of “Spock’s personality is in McCoy” thing going on where Rey can’t get Ben out of her head, because Ben’s life energy is literally fueling her? Rey and Ben Force-Skyping from beyond the grave sounds like the plot of Ghost in Star Wars! Someone call up Whoopi Goldberg!

Anyway, who can say? And will we ever know what the plan was?

Patience.

Someday, we probably will.

Drew Struzan has passed away. He was an artist of incredible talent, creating posters that have adorned the imaginations, college dorm rooms, bedrooms, DVD Jewel Cases, and offices of movie lovers everywhere. (Oh and movie theater lobbys of course.)

I was honestly shocked to hear he died. I think of him and his work as perpetually young. It’s that tied to my childhood. Even the new work was about things that connect me, and so many others, to parts of ourselves that feel innocent and wide-eyed.

But the art is not the man, and he passed at 78 years old, after battling Alzheimer’s. A mortal death for an immortal artist whose work was the tapestry of so many lives.

The Star Wars: Episode I poster was my favorite of his. Not that it’s his best work or the one he’s most known for: but it’s a poster that just meant so much to me as a person. It made this long-awaited movie look like, well, Star Wars. It emotionally tied my childhood to my young adulthood in a way that is hard to encapsulate.

Anyway, he’s honored and written about elsewhere, and well, so I won’t overdo it with a personal obituary. I’m just grateful for what he made for all of us, and I hope he’s resting somewhere at peace.

Imperial March Protestor!

I just want to give a special shout out to a man after my own heart.

Sam O’Hara, a protestor in Washington DC, is suing members of the National Guard because he was wrongfully arrested for playing the Imperial March behind them. That’s free speech, guys. Free speech isn’t just freedom to praise the President, it’s the freedom to criticize him, and his actions, and yes, you. That’s the point of it.

I’m an ACLU staffer (although I write this in my personal capacity); and I’m proud of the ACLU of DC for standing behind Mr. O’Hara.

It’s crazy to watch the Trump Administration declare Emergency Powers like Sith Lords to justify non-Emergency military deployments on US soil, just because they want to put on a TV show for the Fox News set and make our infantile President look like a tough guy. I mean Trump even joked that Russ Vought is called Darth Vader by the left (proudly, this guy loves being a heel).

They joke, but it’s deadly serious when a US President is declaring false emergencies in order to assert power that is not given to him by the Constitution. It’s bad news, and protests are necessary. These little acts of Rebellion matter. So, three cheer for Sam O’Hara, who understands which side of the Empire we’re supposed be on.

Oh and another plug for my spouse’s incredible book on the creative process, which just came out. If you’re someone who labors in the creative fields, you’ll find so much inspiration!

May the Creative Force be with you!