Question regarding LFL. The big complaint is that the sequels had no vision and outline. It is true. But the question is have they learned? Does Mandalorian have a vision or clear pathway either?
Why is it so hard to create story ideas with the end in mind or actually START with the end and go back from there?
In the case of shows, it's because, unless it's a limited-run series, nobody knows how much time they've got.
If you come up with an arc that you plan to conclude at the end of season three, what happens if you get canceled at the end of season two?
What happens if the network/streamer comes back and says, it's such an amazing hit they want you to sign a contract for another two seasons?
If you haven't produced the full third season, you can try to stretch out the pacing to get to that end point, at which point, the show is going to start moving a lot slower for viewers or there is going to be unevenness as you try to squeeze in unnecessary plot points to string things along or if you're already too far along in production, you reach your big ending at the end of season three and try to piece together some crap story to push it forward for another couple of years and everyone talks for the next decade about how it was a great series except for those last two seasons when it really took a nosedive.
Obviously, if it gets canceled early, that's even worse for the creators and whatever fans there were.
Some producers/show-runners/creators will say that in broad strokes, they always had an idea of how they wanted things to end up. Obviously, "How I Met Your Mother" telegraphed in the very first episode what to expect on some level for the ending, for instance, but I think it's dangerous to plan much beyond that in Hollywood.
As fans who watch it for entertainment and story, it's easy to forget that on the other side, it's basically a sausage factory - a big plant pumping out product until someone turns the lights off.
To some degree, it's the same for movies. Someone somewhere may start off with a plan but then things get canceled because the first or second movie doesn't do as well as expected
(Narnia) or a character or story arch proves more or less popular and they want to push things more in that direction or because it does so well, they just don't want it to end even though there isn't necessarily a reason for the story to continue after the first... or second... or third or ____ movie
(John Wick).
I remember that when they made the Matrix, the Whiskowskis had absolutely zero intent on making any sequels. They didn't write for it or direct for it. The first one was such a big hit that WB convinced them to make it a trilogy and the problem was, they used all the ideas they had in the fist one and they completed the story they wanted to tell.
The second and third movies were made strictly to make money by all creatives involved - not art or entertainment.
The recent one... well, you can guess, I'm sure.
I was one of the people eager for those sequels and after seeing them, wished they'd left it at one. :/
