I really think Ep9 is going to bomb almost as bad as SOLO.
TLJ pretty much ruined the ST. Undoing everything that was set up in ep7. It failed as the middle part of a trilogy, by not setting up a bunch of scenarios to care about, didn't take what was presented in ep7 and develop their paths thru twists and turns that ultimately concluded on a cliff-hanger.
People really don't care anymore about Kylo, Poe, Rey, Finn, Hux...the main new characters. Where there was intrigue after ep7, now there's a sense of finality after TLJ, and a sense of wasted potential drama.
I of course will still go see it, and I am sure many will...but i reckon tens of millions of casual-to-hardcore fans are going to abstain until they read some reviews from fans and youtube vloggers before seeing it.
Already sounds like Ep9 is heavily convoluted for a story....there are like 8-15 new characters, as well as attempts to "course correct" TLJ, as well as trying to finalize the Skywalker Saga with something profound and worth it, and rumors it's either a really long 3 hr movie, or a two-part movie because so much needs to be done to truly wrap it all up (+ course correct)....as well as edict from LF to tie in Rebels (what happened to thrawn and ezra), tie in elements of Resistance, tie in elements from novels/comics, as well as tying in the PT and OT, etc.
Lots of flashbacks is going to be bad. Flashbacks are always a sign of poor writing ability.
I really hope Abrams is not going to edit his own film, but instead a reputable editor is, so they can carve thru the tons of scenes, and find a better way to more briefly course-correct + some kick-ass sub-plot that can conclude the Skywalker Saga without all the fluff and filler around it.