Star Wars: Visions Memories 03

Hi team! Welcome to Part 3. If you need to get up to speed, read Part 1 and Part 2 first. Otherwise, let's dive right in...

We hit a point where we had two stories on the table. One was my idea, just called The Cave at the time. The other was a really interesting concept from Will that explored the Force in a totally new way, set in the ancient past.

So we worked up both pitches. We refined the stories together and got pitch artwork done to give each story the best shot with the Lucasfilm team – ultimately they would decide. Paul, Will and myself worked amazingly well together during that time so there was never really a feeling of Will's story or my story. They were our stories. We were as invested in both. That's real collaboration. Not competition.

It's as it should be. 

The Lucasfilm team chose the Cave story. They liked that it was a character story, with a bit of Stand By Me in there. With hindsight, I think that decision was also influenced by one element in our other story that was also in one of the Volume 1 episodes of Visions – a totally different story and different style but maybe that crossover was enough to rule it out. We didn't know at the time what the stories were for Volume 1. And I should point out that, during the making of our Visions episode, we had no idea what other studios were making for Volume 2 either.

But the Lucasfilm team knew.

There's a little side lesson in there – sometimes a note or a decision you get is not about there being a problem with your story. It could be just a conflict with something you can’t see. The execs have a view of what's coming down the line that we simply don't have.

So anyway, we pitched...

The decision came back: we love The Cave! Go make it!

Wait, is this real? Are we making a Star Wars?! Can I go back in time and tell that kid running around his room with an X-Wing toy?!

We had our story. Paul would direct. I would produce. Will would write.

Wait, wait, wait, wait... Will wanted to chat about something. He laid out a simple case: the Cave had come from me and I'm a writer with a strong track record. So, why wouldn't I just write it? For me, well, that just wasn't the plan. Will Collins is writing it. I'm the producer. We went back and forth a bit that way, like two people trying to pay a bill at a restaurant. 

The solution was very simple: let's both write it.

And that's how Will Collins and myself became a writing team. And wow, that was one of the best things to ever happen to me. We had so much fun working together. More on that process in a future post...