And the basics dictate that, for most of your screenplay, you are following a structure. Rian was so set on making some arthouse Star Wars masterpiece that he forgot the basics. Let the audience be right about a bunch of things so that when you do subvert an expectation, it’s a surprise. Every once in awhile, you throw something at the audience that they don’t see coming. But there are times when you’re dancing that you improvise or break into freestyle. You’re luring the audience into a sense of comfort. This is why it’s okay to write 30 pages of screenplay that follow a traditional storytelling pattern. And most dances follow a set sequence of steps. To expand on that, you need to meet the expectation to subvert the expectation. Rian relied on subverting so often that each successive surprise lost impact. The very nature of subverting expectations requires that you carefully pick and choose the moments when you do so. Do it over and over and the audience starts thinking about the person doing it rather than characters experiencing it, which breaks the suspension of disbelief. A subverted expectation is a heightened moment that draws attention itself. One, we start to EXPECT the subvert, which defeats the whole purpose of it. The next big lesson with expectation subverting is that you don’t want to do it too much. If you choose to subvert expectations in a way that is inconsistent with that person, the audience won’t buy it. The lesson here is to get into your character’s head and be honest with what he would do in that moment. My feeling is that Rian wanted Luke to throw that lightsaber over his back so badly that he created that moment then retroactively built his Luke around that choice. The actor who played Luke publicly contested this over 30 times. But it’s clear at this point that he fundamentally didn’t understand the character. Now Rian would probably argue that it’s something HIS version of Luke Skywalker would do. Luke throwing the lightsaber away in a comical manner isn’t something Luke Skywalker would do. And that is never prioritizing a surprise over character. However, one of his early choices is something that is relevant to any writer. He seemed to be more into doing what he wanted rather than what was right for the franchise. I don’t think Rian respected that as much as he could’ve. Therefore, he was subverting expectations based not just on this movie, but on many that came before it. Rian was playing with a beloved world and characters. The first problem here is something you won’t have to deal with until later on in your careers when you become a 7-figure quote screenwriter. So the question becomes, why is it that Rian Johnson’s expectation subverting failed so badly yet there are many instances in film where subverted expectations not only worked, but created iconic moments? And how can you effectively use subverted expectations in your own screenwriting? It’s, “Luke, I am your father.” It’s “I see dead people.” It’s Thanos gets killed within the first 20 minutes of the movie. Subvert expectations movie#These people didn’t come to your movie to see exactly what they expected. And if you meet expectations over and over again in any script, you are boring your audience. The opposite of a subverted expectation? Is a met expectation. Subvert expectations how to#If you don’t know how to subvert expectations, you shouldn’t be writing movies. Because you know what? Subverting expectations is one of the single most important tools in a screenwriter’s arsenal. While some moviegoers found these choices exciting, most fans had a problem with some or all of them. Instead of Luke using his massive knowledge of the Force to battle Kylo and defeat the First Order, he’s a hologram who was never really there. Instead of Rey’s parents being relevant to the mythology, she’s a nobody. Instead of the main villain thriving and growing stronger, he’s killed in the middle of the movie. What expectations am I talking about? Instead of Luke accepting the lightsaber, he throws it away. Yet Rian Johnson’s brazen decision to zag at every plot point we thought The Last Jedi was going to zig on, introduced the term, “subverting expectations” to the general public. I never thought a screenwriting term would become synonymous with the destruction of one of the biggest franchises of all time. Now I’m well aware that today’s topic is a contentious one. If you didn’t receive the newsletter, go here to find out how. We’re sticking with Star Wars, folks, since that was our theme for the Scriptshadow Newsletter.
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