It’s an exciting time to be a Star Wars fan right about now. Disney has unveiled a slate of television shows based in a galaxy far, far away, including the upcoming The Mandalorian and shows for Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi and Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor. The Game of Thrones writers and The Last Jedi’s Rian Johnson each have their own film trilogies in the works as well. Overwhelmed yet? Well apparently the scribes who thought up the horror hit A Quiet Place were also summoned by Lucasfilm at some point as well!
Since Scott Beck and Bryan Woods wrote A Quiet Place with John Krasinski (who also starred and directed), it’s no surprise they’d catch the eye of the likes of Lucasfilm. A Quiet Place was a massive hit that scored $340 million worldwide on a $17 million budget, and earned critical acclaim and a number of award accolades. After they made a name for themselves in 2018, Beck and Woods recalled their brush with Lucasfilm’s high-profile franchises. Here’s what Woods said:
We went into Lucasfilm in the wake of A Quiet Place and they wanted to talk to us about Indiana Jones and Star Wars. And we're like, 'We wanna talk to you about, what is Star Wars before it was Star Wars?' You guys have a responsibility to start a new franchise. That's where our hearts have always been, just trying to create original ideas.
Wow! It sounds like Scott Beck and Bryan Woods fired back at the studio’s plans with a call for original ideas, leading them to eventually turn down any deals under Lucasfilm. They’d rather create their own franchises in the footsteps of Star Wars' origins than ride on the coattails of a previously established series. Not everyone would have the guts to turn down a call from Star Wars, but the writers held their ground on creating original franchises of their own.
Scott Beck elaborated with these words to MovieWeb:
Without giving away too much... it was simply ruminating on if we did an Indiana Jones movie, what would we want to see in Indiana Jones? Or if we did a Star Wars movie, what's that chapter of the whole universe that we would want to see? So it very much was an open canvas talk. It started going down the line a little bit but, again, as Bryan said, it's just not our DNA. We would rather create what the next Indiana Jones could be.
Indiana Jones 5 has certainly hit plenty of obstacles since being announced. The Harrison Ford-led return has been pushed back twice from an original summer 2019 release to its current date of July 9, 2021. The film will be directed by Steven Spielberg following his work on the West Side Story remake. The Indy film will reportedly begin shooting sometime in 2020, but Ford has been vocal about his distaste in the franchise returning without him when he finally hangs up his hat as the character. (Many fans would echo this sentiment as well!)
There are definitely more complications that go into adapting the next chapter of properties with huge fan bases than working with your own ideas. Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies are sure to be made on over $100 million budgets, are among the most anticipated films of the year and will be followed by the astronomical expectations of fans. Sometimes studios pull the reins of control as well, with factors in mind such as advertising, sponsorships and toy sales.
Scott Beck and Bryan Woods' breakout hit will expand with A Quiet Place: Part II, which John Krasinski is writing and directing. Part II will star Emily Blunt, Noah Jupe and Millicent Simmonds again as the Abbotts, along with adding Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou joining the cast. The sequel will explore the origins of the monsters introduced in A Quiet Place. The movie has already begun production and is set for release on March 20, 2020.
The duo recently wrote and directed another thriller titled Haunt about a haunted house lined with truly terrifying nightmares. Haunt comes to theaters on September 13.
