Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was being continuously rewritten during its principal photography. After kick starting the sequel trilogy in 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, J.J. Abrams is back to close out not just the ongoing narrative but also the whole Skywalker saga. Aside from helming the movie, he also penned the film's script alongside Chris Terrio. Plot specifics for Episode IX have been tightly under wraps until now. Both Abrams and Terrio, however, are open to sharing the production process for the project.

Disney and Lucasfilm have run a measured marketing campaign for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, making sure that no unwanted plot point leaks before the film hits theaters. There are a few narrative details that have been confirmed including the fact that it'll be the final installment of the Skywalker Saga and that it'll pick up a year after the events of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The movie will also mark the return of Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine.

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Abrams and Terrio are currently doing the press rounds for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and in a recent interview with The New York Times, the pair revealed that scenes were continuously being rewritten just before they shot them during the movie's production. Terrio said that for a film as big as Episode IX, they needed to protect the actors of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker from the behind-the-scenes turmoil, as they wanted to ensure that everything went according to plan. And if one day, things didn't go as smoothly as possible, they needed to tackle the next day "with great optimism and enthusiasm to do it again.” Despite the commotion, Abrams shared that it's nothing out of the ordinary since it was the same process they used in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Abrams said, “As we did on ‘Force Awakens,’ while we’re shooting, we’re reconsidering things, changing some significant story points going back to ideas that we had loved but put away. That process never stopped. Some people can say, oh, that sounds like it’s crazy, but when you have the better idea, it doesn’t matter when it is — you have to try it.”

J.J. Abrams and Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars The Last Jedi

It's no secret there's a lot of story that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker needs to tackle. Aside from capping off the sequel trilogy, it also bears the burden of giving fans a satisfying conclusion to the nine-film Skywalker film saga. The return of Emperor Palpatine poses some brand new questions, while the mystery of Supreme Leader Snoke and the Knights of Ren are still lingering. Since it's the final installment of the episodic movies, fans are expecting that all of these will be resolved in the movie. On top of those, the untimely demise of Carrie Fisher is another tricky circumstance to navigate when sending off the beloved Leia Organa.

Before fans get anxious, however, it's worth noting that scenes being rewritten during filming isn't really something new. Just because there's no set script doesn't mean that a movie is a guaranteed disaster - case in point: 2008's Iron Man which kicked off the MCU. Sure, it's risky to shuffle things while in the midst of production where time is of the essence. However, it could also be a great way to encourage creativity. As Abrams said in relation to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, they can't compromise on a better idea just because they don't want to change what's already on the script.

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Source: The New York Times

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