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.