Director Rian Johnson’s days “arguing on the playground about Star Wars” helped him process the backlash to The Last Jedi, the filmmaker has said.
Johnson, also director of Looper and Knives Out, said the polarised reaction to his Star Wars movie made him remember his previous feelings to the franchise’s prequel trilogy — and the “ruthless” discussions he’d had when younger.
Reaction to The Last Jedi remains divided, with some fans appreciating its unexpected narrative turns, elevation of several new characters, and democraticisation of the Force. But others see it as too much of a diversion — and apparently Lucasfilm agreed, as some of Johnson’s biggest story changes were unsubtly reverted in the Skywalker Saga’s finale, The Rise of Skywalker.
“Having grown up a Star Wars fan ultimately let me contextualize it and feel at peace with it in many different ways,” Johnson told Rolling Stone, discussing the wave of displeasure towards The Last Jedi from some of the franchise’s loudest fans. “Just remembering, going back on one level to arguing on the playground about Star Wars as a kid.
“I was in college when the prequels came out,” he continued. “My friends and I were Prequel Hate Central. Everyone was ruthless at the time.
“Now the prequels are embraced. I’m not saying that as a facile, ‘Oh, things will flip around in 20 years, you’ll see!’ It’s more that this push and pull, and this hatred to stuff that seems new, this is all part of being a Star Wars fan. Culture-war garbage aside, I think that essential part of it is a healthy part.”
Johnson’s views on the Prequel trilogy have evolved over the years, and in 2020 he described them as a “gorgeous seven-hour-long movie for children about how entitlement and the fear of loss turns good people into fascists”, while praising Star Wars creator George Lucas for embracing “every technical sea change in modern filmmaking” while making it.
But how does he feel about J.J. Abrams’ Rise of Skywalker — the film which reverted Johnson’s plans for Rey’s parentage, sidelined some of his key characters, and brought back a zombiefied Palpatine to tie-up the saga in yet another nod back to the past?
“When I saw the movie, I had a great time watching it,” Johnson said. “In my perspective, J.J. did the same thing with [Rise of Skywalker] that I did with [The Last Jedi], which is not digging it up and undoing — just telling the story the way that was most compelling going forward. That means not just validating what came before, but recontextualizing it and evolving and changing as the story moves forward.
“I didn’t feel resentful in some way. But you’re talking about a movie made by my friends, with my friends in it. I sit down to watch a movie, and it’s a Star Wars movie. It’s all stuff I love. I’m not the one to come to for a hard-hitting critique. You can go to YouTube for that.”
Next up for Star Wars is the likely more straightforward success of The Mandalorian and Grogu , a big-screen outing for the popular Disney+ duo due out in 2026. Star Wars: Starfighter, Shawn Levy’s Star Wars movie starring Ryan Gosling, is due out in 2027. After that, Lucasfilm is headed beyond its Star Wars sequel trilogy with a film centered on Rey, as she looks to rebuild the Jedi Order roughly 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker.
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Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
