STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI Director Rian Johnson Reveals One Thing He Doesn't Regret About The Divisive Movie

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI Director Rian Johnson Reveals One Thing He Doesn't Regret About The Divisive Movie

Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson still comes under fire from fans for the decisions he made in the 2017 movie, but the filmmaker has now revealed the one thing he has zero regrets about...

By JoshWilding - Sep 14, 2022 11:09 AM EST
Filed Under: Star Wars
Source: Gizmodo (via SFFGazette.com)

The Last Jedi divided fans of a Galaxy Far, Far Away, and while we'd argue that it was a very good sci-fi adventure, there's no denying that mistakes were made when it came to being a Star Wars movie.

In hindsight, we can't help but wonder whether filmmaker Rian Johnson would still decide to kill Supreme Leader Snoke, reveal that Rey's parents were nobodies, and depict Luke Skywalker as a disillusioned hermit who had turned his back on his friends. However, he did tee up what could have been some interesting plot threads for Colin Trevorrow to pick up on. 

There was ultimately no way the director could have known how badly J.J. Abrams would later drop the ball with The Rise of Skywalker, of course, a movie that was primarily devoted to fan-service and damage control.

Regardless, when Gizmodo (via SFFGazette.com) recently spoke with Johnson, he explained what he doesn't regret about working on the 2017 movie. 

"I can say that I put everything into a Star Wars movie that I could possibly want in a Star Wars movie," the director recalls. "I think that's what defines the experience for me looking back on it and why I feel just so thankful for it."

"I feel like, for better or for worse, I had my chance at the plate. I swung. I was very lucky to get to do [that] [and thanks to] the people at Disney and Lucasfilm and Kathleen Kennedy [for] protect[ing] the creative process so that we could really go in and I could really do what I wanted," Johnson continued. "That's one thing I don't feel any regrets about or anything like that."

He'd go on to say that, for him, putting all the ideas he had into the movie was the right decision rather than saving them for down the line. 

"I feel like I did absolutely leave it on the table. But I also feel like a filmmaker should do that with every single movie they ever make." the Knives Out helmer continued. "You know, I feel like if you get to the end of the process and feel like you still got something in the tank for the sequel, you've done the process wrong I think."

Johnson must have some ideas left over because he still hopes to write and direct a trilogy of Star Wars movies for Lucasfilm. 

It's admirable that the director got to do everything that he wanted to with his time working on the iconic franchise, anyway, and a shame his approach didn't quite gel with what fans hoped to see. The Last Jedi may be more appreciated down the line (similar to what's happened with the prequels), but for the time being, it remains as divisive as ever.

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Reeds2Much
Reeds2Much - 9/14/2022, 11:32 AM
The paycheck.
soberchimera
soberchimera - 9/14/2022, 11:32 AM
AnthonyVonGeek
AnthonyVonGeek - 9/14/2022, 11:34 AM
All this guy does is talk about himself. It’s nothing but “I’s” coming out of his mouth. I wanted this, I think this, I felt like this, and so on. Very narcissistic. 🤷‍♂️
thewanderer
thewanderer - 9/14/2022, 11:41 AM
@AnthonyVonGeek - lol he was being interviewed about his experience making the movie.
Origame
Origame - 9/14/2022, 11:46 AM
@AnthonyVonGeek - today we learn what an interview is.
suitekid
suitekid - 9/14/2022, 1:35 PM
@AnthonyVonGeek - What else is he supposed to do? He’s speaking about his experience.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 9/15/2022, 8:10 AM
@AnthonyVonGeek - he's the worst.
TheVandalore
TheVandalore - 9/14/2022, 11:36 AM
Though I hate The Last Jedi, I don't like it at all... somehow I do respect it. It tried bold things with the lore that thrust the series into an unexpected direction. Rain came into a shit storm of a franchise where they expected him to repair a sinking ship, and he decided the best way to survive is to sink the ship and let the remaining survivors plot how to get to land. Bold move, but one that I think was kinda irresponsible and pointless and disrespectful to the history of the vessel and those who went down with the ship.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 9/14/2022, 12:11 PM
@TheVandalore - you shouldn't
Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 9/14/2022, 12:36 PM
@TheVandalore - "Rain came into a shit storm of a franchise where they expected him to repair a sinking ship,"

The Force Awakens made $2 Billion dollars worldwide, the most of any Star Wars movie ever, and was generally praised with positive reviews, so how could the franchise be a "sinking ship" at that point?
I agree that it is NOW, but it wasn't after TFA, which I personally feel is a lousy movie like all 3 Disney SW movies are.
But, to suggest that Johnson was tasked with righting a sinking ship is absurdly inaccurate imo.
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 9/14/2022, 11:38 AM
Normally I'd agree that a movie should be very much it's own thing, but with it being the confirmed middle part of a trilogy I kinda don't agree.

That said, Rian's approach does give a good insight to why the movie is the way it is.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 9/14/2022, 11:40 AM
mountainman
mountainman - 9/14/2022, 11:43 AM
I want directors to have their vision and I understand fanbases can be fickle at times. There is a disturbing trend in recent years where it seems like some of these studios, directors and actors have disdain for their fan bases. It seems like a strange strategy.

Let’s compare to what Tom Cruise did at the front of Top Gun 2 - he thanked fans for coming out and seeing the movie. They didn’t try to subvert expectations or tear down old heroes to build up new ones.

It’s strange to me how much Star Wars, Marvel, Lord of the Rings etc have had a trend of openly showing hatred towards their fans.

In this case, all it would take for me is to hear Johnson say something like “I won’t apologize for my decisions but I understand the perspective of the fans that took issue with some of them. We all have opinions and I’ll respect yours if you respect mine.”

But it always (not just Johnson but a lot of these Hollywood types) tend to insult parts of their fanbase and assume that all criticism but be because that person is a toxic individual.

I get it. Try your thing. But own up to it if it is unliked by some people. Those people aren’t wrong. They are fans. I think it hurts the brand in the long run to alienate people and blame them when they don’t like something.
thewanderer
thewanderer - 9/14/2022, 11:59 AM
@mountainman - "It’s strange to me how much Star Wars, Marvel, Lord of the Rings etc have had a trend of openly showing hatred towards their fans. "


You don't seriously think that do you?
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 9/14/2022, 12:01 PM
@mountainman - serious question: how do you wade through this? If 40% didn't like it and 60% did(just a number, not based on anything), then how do you respond to both sides?

Do you apologize to the people who disliked it? Do you cater to the people who did?

I think we like to believe that our bubbles are the whole picture, but the last Jedi got universal acclaim on Metacritic and made 1.3 billion dollars. So who would he be acknowledging wrongs to?
mountainman
mountainman - 9/14/2022, 12:22 PM
@thewanderer - It’s pretty clear when you hear the interviews with these people and they try to lump all criticism and detractors into certain categories that yes, it’s a clear hatred for the fanbase that has sustained the property for years. It seems to stem from people who are younger and not as steeped in the property trying to do bold things to change things up, which I stated in my post I don’t think is inherently a bad thing, that are unable to take criticism and thus throw insults and slurs at the portion of the fanbase that dislikes it in the hopes of that explaining that criticism away. Once again, look at Cruise and Top Gun 2. When is the last time that one of the properties I mentioned did that?
mountainman
mountainman - 9/14/2022, 12:26 PM
@MyCoolYoung - I don’t have the numbers handy, but I do believe the fan response to episode 8 was far lower than the critic response. This has also been a trend in recent years. It gets pegged on review bombing, but I think that’s just a scapegoat. Take Rings of Power - I haven’t seen it yet and have no opinion here - but it does strike me as odd when a Tolkien purist says things like “there were no black elves in middle earth and the text specifically describes them as fair of skin” to the show runners and actors calling those people racist trolls. There are actual racist comments made but when we lump a larger group in with that it turns people off. I’m someone who doesn’t care about race swaps as long as the story and characters are good and even I become anti-studio when I hear than condescending commentary coming from millionaires in hollywood that berate the people that could be supporting their product.
thewanderer
thewanderer - 9/14/2022, 12:28 PM
@mountainman - If he's proud of the movie he made, why should he say otherwise?

For as many people who didn't like The Last Jedi, there's just as many who did.


And let's stop pretending that Star Wars is the epitome of great filmaking. Great plot, great CGI, but there's not a single Star Wars movie that is perfect from a story telling and dialogue standpoint. We love it because of the mythology, but great movies overall? Most of them aren't.
mountainman
mountainman - 9/14/2022, 12:36 PM
@thewanderer - I’m really not a huge Star Wars nerd so this doesn’t really impact me personally. Just what I observed. I like the OT, Rogue One and Mandelorian. Enjoyed a few of the video games over the years. I’m just sharing a trend (not specific to Johnson mind you) of these Hollywood types speaking down to people who don’t like their product. I’ll admit this specific interview was more defending or explaining his decisions so it doesn’t fall into that per se. But it’s certainly happened a good deal in recent years.
thewanderer
thewanderer - 9/14/2022, 12:43 PM
@mountainman - I really haven't seen Rian Johnson talk down to fans at any point. I just think if anything, he's sticking up for himself as he's largely been crapped on by a section of a fan base who didn't get what they wanted and can't accept it (despite the fact that them also crapping on Force Awakens is why Johnson went so far in the other direction in the first place).

For some, no matter what he says at this point is going to looked at negatively, so he might as well stick to what he actually believes and feels.
mountainman
mountainman - 9/14/2022, 12:46 PM
@thewanderer - You know what, maybe I’m unfairly lumping him in with others. I can’t specifically think about him talking down and he has always just defended his decisions. I don’t want to be unfair to him. I think acknowledging some of the complaints could help, but maybe they wouldn’t. Spurned fans can be tough to placate.
thewanderer
thewanderer - 9/14/2022, 12:47 PM
@MyCoolYoung - agreed. At the end of the day I think a director should defend their work unless they personally think in hindsight there was something they should have done differently.

It's a thankless job and there's no way to make everyone happy. Fans complained that Force Awakens wasn't original enough, so in The Last Jedi they went very original, and some fans still complained.

At the end of the day all you can ask a director to do is make the best movie possible and to be happy with their work at the end of it.
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 9/14/2022, 1:03 PM
@thewanderer - facts I've been saying this for a while in regards to Star Wars Fandom. Some want something original; some want something different. Some want more of the og people; some want them gone.

The one thing people truly seem to forget is that your expectations are not indicative of quality.

"Luke wouldn't do that" has no bearing whatsoever on if the movie was good or not. That's your expectations of what the movie should be
thewanderer
thewanderer - 9/14/2022, 1:06 PM
@MyCoolYoung - exactly. Luke acted exactly as I would have expected based on the story we were given. We saw Obi-Wan basically act the same way in his series.


Just as Anakin in the prequels acted just as you'd expect. People complain about Anakin being a whiny brat, but if you look at Anakin, Luke and Ben Solo all together, you see that they all had very similar character traits.
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 9/14/2022, 1:24 PM
@mountainman - I get that and I get what you're saying. It's just, you'll never be able to make everyone happy. I agree you should hear your fans out and maybe not berate then, but at the end of the day trust the writers and directors you've hired and live with the results
Toblakai
Toblakai - 9/14/2022, 7:15 PM
@thewanderer - I mean, all you have to do is look at their response to any and all criticism.

Racist.
Sexist.
Not real fans

Etc
Etc
Etc

They openly show their contempt for the fans AND the source material they're using. It's not a theory when you can read it in their own words.
Toblakai
Toblakai - 9/14/2022, 7:24 PM
@thewanderer - no. Luke wouldn't have ever attempted to or even thought about murdering his nephew.

Total nonsense
thewanderer
thewanderer - 9/14/2022, 9:28 PM
@Toblakai - well, when your actors get racist and sexists comments sent to them…
Toblakai
Toblakai - 9/15/2022, 12:34 PM
@thewanderer - lol. Yes, smearing the entire fanbase with those accusations based on the actions of less than 1% is totally legit.

I wonder if there are any examples in history of assigning collective guilt to an entire group going wrong......
thewanderer
thewanderer - 9/15/2022, 12:36 PM
@Toblakai - they aren't smearing the entire fanbase lol.
Toblakai
Toblakai - 9/15/2022, 3:33 PM
@thewanderer - sure they are. They're doing it in Star Wars, LOTR and many other franchises. The Warhammer 40k fanbase is being smeared as sexist and transphobic because the vast majority of us don't want female Space Msrines because it makes no sense and literally destroys 30+ years of lore.

Racist and sexist is what the studios are using to deflect criticism from the garbage they're making. Don't think a black Elf belongs in LOTR? Racist. Say that Galadrial is nothing like the actual character and is a complete 180°.....sexist.

Any criticism whatsoever is dismissed as one sort of ist or phone all rhe time. And that shit is getting real old.

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