Improvisation is responsible for some important moments in Star Wars history — Han’s famous “I know”, for instance — but it’s not considered the norm. According to Oscar Isaac, that might be changing.
In a recent interview with IndieWire, Isaac discussed the shooting of the new Star Wars, saying, “The way they’ve been shooting it right now is looser than it’s been for the past two times,” a comment that the article clarifies refers to on-set improvisation. “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.”
He adds that this move is one that’s natural to the material, and that doesn’t reflect poorly on it. “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,” he said. “There’s no need to smuggle anything in there.”
Improvisation can add a lot to a movie, and movies that were heavily improvised—Iron Man is another prominent example here—can have really distinct tones and styles compared to movies that rely more heavily on the shooting script. It’ll be intriguing to see how Episode IX differs from Abrams’s previous Star Wars movie, and from the rest of the new films in general.
Star Wars: Episode IX currently has no title, and is in production, with a release scheduled for December 2019.