After his last movie, The Book of Henry, was universally panned—combined with the drama of recent Star Wars movies—it wouldn't be wrong for fans to be a little bit worried about Colin Trevorrow's ability to direct Episode IX. But though critics called The Book of Henry "the equivalent of eating a cake baked with salt instead of sugar" and likened it to being "mugged by a Decembrists song," Trevorrow assures The Hollywood Reporter he's still the right man for the job of helming the next Star Wars feature.
"Not only did I grow up on these stories, like all of us did, [but] I think that the values of Star Wars are values that I hold very close and very dear in my life," he said. "I feel that the message of the way that the Force teaches you to treat other people and show respect for others, and the way it guides you through life, is really important to me. And I hope everybody would realize that that set of stories has affected me as deeply in my life as it has affected them."
He also commented on the firing of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller from the young Han Solo movie, saying much of the press was undeserved.
"Movies are very personal, and art is very personal, and for people to try to turn that into something that is salacious or something that will get clicks is frustrating and sad for me because I know that [movies] mean a lot to everyone involved," he said. "And everybody involved in that movie is passionate about it and worked on it very hard and continues to work on it very hard."
He has a point, though it's hard to equate a multi-billion dollar franchise owned by the Disney corporation to a little passion project. This is serious business, and if the people in charge are making movies that are plagued with drama or getting called "grotesquely phony and manipulative" by critics, fans have a right to be worried.
