Star Wars: Oscar Isaac Claims ‘Episode IX’ Has More Improvisation on Set Than Previous Films

Big budget films like the Star Wars franchise have a lot of moving parts, but they tend to stick to a very strict shooting schedule.

But it sounds like J.J Abrams is changing things up for Star Wars: Episode IX, as actor Oscar Isaac recently explained to IndieWire.

“The way they’ve been shooting it right now is looser than it’s been for the last two times,” Isaac said, explaining that there’s a lot more improvisation in the new movie. “It does feel like a relief to get on set and feel like, ‘Oh, we can try things.’ It’s a testament to J.J. coming back and feeling confident. There’s less pressure for it to be right. We just want to make a good movie and have a really good time while doing it.”

Isaac said the production on Star Wars: Episode IX has been a lot difference on the previous two movies.

“Often, you do feel like you’ve got to find your way to make something more alive, but this time, it’s been the opposite,” Isaac said. “There’s no need to smuggle anything in there.”

Isaac also addressed the fan backlash to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but he’s not phased by it. He compared the negative reaction to that against George Lucas’ prequel films.

“Luckily, since I’m not directing it, producing it, or distributing it, I don’t have to worry so much about fan expectations,” Isaac told IndieWire. “Also, not all fans have the same expectations … People had very strong feelings, but there wasn’t as much of an organized way to speak out about it,” Isaac said, noting the major change in how fans interact nowadays. “People that run blogs and websites need content. So it’s like, ‘There’s some content!’ Five people on Twitter. Hundreds. Whatever it is. Then you make it into a story.”

The fan backlash was quickly followed by the reception of Solo: A Star Wars Story, which failed to meet Disney’s box office expectations. In the wake of that, Disney Chairman Bob Iger revealed they are slowing down on the release of Star Wars movies for the future.

“I made the timing decision, and as I look back, I think the mistake that I made — I take the blame — was a little too much, too fast. You can expect some slowdown, but that doesn’t mean we’re not gonna make films. J.J. [Abrams] is busy making [Episode] IX,” Iger said to the Hollywood Reporter. “We have creative entities, including [Game of Thrones creators David] Benioff and [D.B.] Weiss, who are developing sagas of their own, which we haven’t been specific about. And we are just at the point where we’re gonna start making decisions about what comes next after J.J.’s. But I think we’re gonna be a little bit more careful about volume and timing. And the buck stops here on that.”

Fans can expect the next installment, Star Wars: Episode IX, to premiere in theaters in December, 2019.