Colin Trevorrow’s latest film, a family tale called The Book of Henry, is getting truly terrible reviews. How terrible? It’s at about 23 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and only a slightly better 31 percent on Metacritic, which has cemented its reputation as the worst film Trevorrow has directed so far. This massive stumble has concerned some Star Wars fans, since Trevorrow is already set to helm the upcoming ninth official installment in the iconic franchise. After this poor showing, could he suffer the same fate as Josh Trank, who was supposed to direct a Star Wars spin-off film before leaving the project amid rumors of “erratic behavior” on the set of his critically drubbed 2015 Fantastic Four—or, more recently, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, two distinctive directors who chafed against Lucasfilm’s restraints and were ultimately fired from the Han Solo film? In Trevorrow’s case . . . probably not, and there are a few reasons why.
Unlike Lord, Miller, and Trank, Trevorrow had an in with the world of Lucasfilm before he boarded Star Wars—and has been privy to the machinations of billion-dollar filmmaking before. This is all thanks to his relationship with director Steven Spielberg, the sci-fi legend who is also close with George Lucas and Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy. Spielberg often makes vital suggestions about the future of Star Wars—it was he who recommended J.J. Abrams for The Force Awakens—and he also anointed Trevorrow, then an unknown indie filmmaker, to helm Jurassic World, which made $1.6 billion in 2015. So Trevorrow already has an intimate understanding of the level of control a studio wants in a film of that size—a level of control that will only grow when it comes time for Star Wars IX.
Plus, the guy has been taking those harsh Book of Henry reviews surprisingly well. In a recent interview with the Empire podcast, Trevorrow seemed to humbly accept the film’s critical reaction, saying that his “heart sank” when he first read the comments. “It’s a little heartbreaking, without getting too personal,” he admitted, though he still stands by his work.
“We did not anticipate that level of vitriolic dislike for the film,” he added. “In the end, do I want to be somebody who pleases both audiences and critics? Absolutely.”
It was a gracious interview on Trevorrow’s behalf, free from blame or finger-pointing at critics—unlike, say, how Trank reacted when tanked. Trevorrow can clearly take negative reviews, even the most creatively vitriolic—Rolling Stone called Henry__Henry a “crashing disaster,” while Variety said it was full of “flamboyant terribleness”—with an even temperament. In the interview, he lightly addressed fan concerns that Book of Henry makes him ineligible to handle a Star Wars film by telling a flattering anecdote about his wife showing him a thread from a Star Wars forum of someone complaining about the movie . . . before ultimately saying they saw Book of Henry and liked it. “He’s talking about it like, ‘He must be stopped,’ and then at the very end he’s like, ‘Actually I took my wife and two kids to go see the movie, it’s pretty great.’”Rolling Stone Book of Henry and liked it. “He’s talking about it like, ‘He must be stopped,’ and then at the very end he’s like, ‘Actually I took my wife and two kids to go see the movie, it’s pretty great.’”Star Wars forum of someone complaining about the movie . . . before ultimately saying they saw Star Wars film by telling a flattering anecdote about his wife showing him a thread from a Book of Henry makes him ineligible to handle a Variety said it was full of “flamboyant terribleness”—with an even temperament. In the interview, he lightly addressed fan concerns that called a “crashing disaster,” while tanked. Trevorrow can clearly take negative reviews, even the most creatively vitriolic—
Trevorrow also told Empire that he turned to Spielberg for advice on handling the reviews, and that he has had conversations about the quick-take world of Rotten Tomatoes with Kathleen Kennedy. Not every new director swept into the Star Wars franchise has been lucky enough to have such a warm, pre-existing relationship with those heavy hitters, particularly the new-era directors that Kennedy is tapping in order to bring fresh energy to the franchise. At this point, Trevorrow has seen firsthand what Lucasfilm expects from its directors, and he likely understands the level of control he’ll have to relinquish in order to make a film of this size—the way Gareth Edwards did with Rogue One.
By this point, Trevorrow is deeply embedded in the Star Wars world, turning in a screenplay draft for the future film just this past December. In the podcast interview, he laments the fact that his relationship to the films as a fan has completely changed, as he can no longer just plop down in a theater and be surprised by future films, like The Last Jedi. “That time has ended now,” he says. “Star Wars is no longer that experience for me, and if there’s anything that’s kind of sad about it, it’s that I don’t get to have that—but I wouldn’t trade it.”
