It appears as if the fan response to Star Wars: The Last Jedi can be categorised as "mixed" but how accurate that is given how scores on sites like Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes can be so easily manipulated is hard to say. Either way, in a new interview with Business Insider, director Rian Johnson was asked how he feels about the response to the sequel being so different to what's come before and he talked extensively about how that feels and why he's not necessarily taking it too personally.
"Having been a Star Wars fan my whole life, and having spent most of my life on the other side of the curb and in that fandom, it softens the blow a little bit.
"I’m aware through my own experience that, first of all, the fans are so passionate, they care so deeply — sometimes they care very violently at me on Twitter. But it’s because they care about these things, and it hurts when you’re expecting something specific and you don’t get it from something that you love. It always hurts, so I don’t take it personally if a fan reacts negatively and lashes out on me on Twitter. That’s fine. It’s my job to be there for that. Like you said, every fan has a list of stuff they want a Star Wars movie to be and they don’t want a Star Wars movie to be. You’re going to find very few fans out there whose lists line up.
"I also know the same way the original movies were personal for Lucas. Lucas never made a Star Wars movie by sitting down and thinking, ‘What do the fans want to see?’ And I knew if I wrote wondering what the fans would want, as tempting as that is, it wouldn’t work, because people would still be shouting at me, ‘F— you, you ruined Star Wars,’ and I would make a bad movie. And ultimately, that’s the one thing nobody wants.
"And let me just add that 80-90% of the reaction I’ve gotten from Twitter has been really lovely. There’s been a lot of joy and love from fans. When I talk about the negative stuff, that’s not the full picture of the fans at all."
Based on the box office numbers and the general consensus on social media, it does appear as if those who don't like The Last Jedi are a vocal minority as opposed to the majority of fans. Regardless of what the case may be, though, it's fair to say that Johnson's comments are pretty spot on as a version of the movie which answered every question and addressed every fan theory would be pretty awful.
George Lucas definitely never made his Star Wars movies thinking solely about what the fans would want and it's strange to see J.J. Abrams criticised back in 2015 for not being original enough with The Force Awakens and now Johnson come under fire for doing too many different things with the franchise! What do you guys think? Let us know your thoughts on that in the comments section.
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