Here's What Happened To The Canceled 'The Making Of Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Book
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, there was going to be a coffee table book called The Making of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. And then the book was canceled. So what happened? J.W. Rinzler, a writer who is responsible for several behind-the-scenes books about the world of Star Wars, and the writer who was writing the Force Awakens book, has a theory.
J.W. Rinzler, author and editor for Lucas Licensing's book division, and the writer of books The Art of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, The Making of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith, The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film, and more, was also supposed to write The Making of Star Wars: The Force Awakens – until the book was canceled.
"I knew when I started writing it that it would be canceled," the author said in the past. "There were a lot of things that were known to the public that I think Disney and Kathleen Kennedy just didn't want to rehash."
In a new, lengthy Q&A video above, Rinzler opens up a bit more about the reason behind the cancelation. Or at least what he assumes to be the reason. In Rinzler's opinion, the book was canceled due to "control issues." Namely: when the details of the production were laid out in book form it made it look as if the making of The Force Awakens was riddled with problems. But as Rinzler adds, the majority of huge Hollywood movies encounter problems during production. However, it seems that the powers-that-be behind the book preferred not to draw attention to those problems. Again: this is Rinzler's opinion. He even says this is a guess on his part, but it certainly makes sense.
Later in the video Rinzler reveals he's writing a book about Lucasfilm producer Howard Kazanjian, and that in the course of writing the book, he was able to score an interview with Marcia Lucas, George Lucas' ex-wife and the co-editor of A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. Lucas' editing is considered by some to be the main reason the first Star Wars film is so memorable, but she doesn't really give interviews about the films that often. Rinzler adds that he's tried to interview her multiple times in the past and was always turned down, and now he was able to ask her questions he's built up over the years. "She had nice things to say about George Lucas and she talked to me about the prequels a little bit and also the new Star Wars films which she had seen, up to that point I think she had seen them all and had interesting things to say, and it's all in the book," Rinzler says.
No word yet on when that book will hit shelves.