The Fall of Skywalker II: The Mystery Box
5/3/20261 hr 20 min
It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that any criticism of J.J. Abrams’ work must discuss the Mystery Box.
Check out Jon McCoy’s Episode IX Visual Sketchbook - it’s really fuckin cool! Also while you’re at it, Phil Saunders has also shared a heap of his work on the film with explanations of the process AND exact dates that really helped me piece together the timeline on this one.
We have a Patreon - if you like what we do, you can be part of it! There are bonus episodes too. I dunno how to promote stuff I don’t like ads either that’s why we don’t run any and instead rely on the generosity of our Patreon Subscribers!
Guest Starring:
Patrick Tomaso as J.J. Abrams
Christian Byers as Chris Terrio
Angus Truskett as Rian Johnson
Josh Boerman as Bob Iger
Abigail Nussbaum as Kathleen Kennedy
Asher Elbein as Phil Saunders
Grace Koh as Maryann Brandon
Kobi Omenaka as Vincent Canby
Jackson Ryan as Brian Hiatt
Andrew Levins as Fredrick S Clarke (the Cinefantastique reviewer who hated Empire)
The Great Jamie Tram as Kelly Marie Tran
CLIPS
Star Wars Episode IV: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker
The Mystery Box: JJ Abrams TED Talk
The Skywalker Legacy
David Fincher Interview Special: The Empire Podcast
JJ Abrams Explains Why He Brought Back the Emperor in Star Wars the Rise of Skywalker - Geek Culture
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Audio Commentary
James Earl Jones Recalls Luke I Am Your Father
Guest Host Josh Gad Interviews Daisy Ridley - Jimmy Kimmel Live
Daisy Ridley on Fan Theories - 2016 MTV Movie Awards
J.J. Abrams Post Screening Panel
Irvin Kershner & Gary Kurtz for The Empire Strikes Back
MUSIC
Harper Rey: Gamechanger Theme
Michael Giacchino: Alias Theme
“Deadly Roulette”, “Enter the Maze”, “Rising Tide”, “Marty Gots A Plan”, “Hall of the Mountain King”, “Rollin At 5”, “Deep Haze”, “Divertissement”, “Floating Cities”, “Morgana Rides”, “Leaving Home”, “Halls of the Undead”, “Oppressive Gloom”, “SCP-x6x”, “Thunder Dreams”, “Bleeping Demo”, “Sauropod Spotting”, “The Chamber”, “Gymnopedie No 1.”, “Wisps of Whorls”, “Constance”, “Lost Frontier”, “Myst on the Moors” & “Clean Soul” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
“Suspended Animation” & “VHS Dreams” by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
“Atlantis”, “The Great Unknown”, “Night Runner” & “Dark Mystery” by Jason Shaw - Audionautix.com
"Gravity" by James Richardson (kingjamesroyaltyfreemusic.blogspot.co.uk)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsTansy Gardam· Host0:00
Going Rogue is made possible by our supporters on Patreon. If you enjoy the show, consider joining us there, where you'll get a version of each episode that doesn't have me doing this. You can quite literally buy my silence. [upbeat music] It is a truth universally acknowledged that any criticism of J.J. Abrams' work must discuss the mystery box. So let's set the scene. It's 2008, TED Talks are still cool, and J.J. Abrams is using his to talk about his grandfather.
J.J. Abrams· Soundbite0:31
I was trying to think what do I talk about. It's a good question. Uh, why do I do so much stuff that involves mystery? And I started trying to figure it out, and I, I started thinking about, "Well, why do I do any of what I do?" And I started thinking about my grandfather. I loved my grandfather. Harry Calvin, uh, was his name, my mother's father. He died in 1986. He was an amazing guy. You know, kind of got me into all sorts of these things. He would also supply me with tools. He was this amazing encourager, uh, this patron sort of, uh, to make stuff. And he got me a, a Super 8 camera when I was 10 years old. And in 1976, that was sort of an anomaly, to be a 10-year-old kid that had access to a camera. And, you know, he was so generous.
Tansy Gardam· Host1:10
Harry Calvin didn't just buy J.J. a camera. He also funded his grandson's obsession with magic, taking him to Tannen's Magic Store in Manhattan, and this was where J.J. Abrams found the mystery box.
J.J. Abrams· Soundbite1:24
So one of the things that I bought at the magic store was this, Tannen's Mystery Magic Box.