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As we’ve witnessed with the final season of _Game of Thrones _and seen with the recent _Star Wars _movies, you’re never going to please everyone. If the stellar conclusions to _Breaking Bad
_and _Mad Men _couldn’t satisfy the masses to the point of general consensus, maybe nothing will. As such, we highly recommend that writer-producer-director J.J. Abrams make a decision about
his potentially industry-shaking free agency before the release of December’s _Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker_. It clearly has a lot riding on it. The movie, which will close out the
Skywalker saga that began with 1977’s _Star Wars_, has released just one trailer to widespread praise. But the inevitable backlash brought on by a vocal minority will certainly explode after
the film’s premiere, making now the perfect time for Abrams to strike. For what it’s worth, he seems well aware of the amplified nature of fan reaction in today’s climate. His 2015 _Star
Wars _feature, _The Force Awakens_, was a beloved box-office record setter, but it was also criticized for hewing too closely to the franchise’s original film, _A New Hope._ _SUBSCRIBE TO
OBSERVER’S ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER_ It seems, however, that Abrams is more comfortable now with the idea of setting aside some of his reverence and infusing more of his own perspective into
_The Rise of Skywalker. _ “Working on nine, I found myself approaching it slightly differently,” Abrams told _Vanity Fair _in its latest cover story. “Which is to say that, on seven, I
felt beholden to _Star Wars_ in a way that was interesting—I was doing what to the best of my ability I felt _Star Wars_ should be. [But this time, it] felt slightly more renegade; it felt
slightly more like, you know, fuck it, I’m going to do the thing that feels right because it does, not because it adheres to something.” While this strategy carries inherent risk—heated
exchanges over the perceived merit or failure of _The Last Jedi_‘s de-mythologizing still rage on in the dark corners of internet comments sections—it is also undeniably fascinating.
Diverging from the original trilogy’s capper, 1983’s _Return of the Jedi, _creates more room for Abrams’ new trilogy capper to breathe, providing a higher ceiling—but also a greater risk of
failure. Throughout all three of its trilogies, _Star Wars_ has been bound by its relationship to the past. Now, Abrams has an opportunity to unfetter the saga from its foundations and dream
up a conclusion befitting of the greatest film franchise of all time.