Rian Johnson “even more proud” of ‘The Last Jedi’ five years on
Upon its release in the winter of 2017, Star Wars: The Last Jedi quickly became one of the most controversial franchise films ever made. Featuring a Luke Skywalker that was vastly different from his initial characterization in the original trilogy, new plot turns that were distinct from popular fan theories, and the literal destruction of sacred Jedi texts, director Rian Johnson made it clear that he had set out to bring his own unique vision of the extended Star Wars universe to the big screen.
The reaction was polarizing, to say the least. While critics were nearly universal in their praise, audience reactions were more mixed. Before The Last Jedi was even screened, websites like Rotten Tomatoes were bombarded with negative audience reviews in an attempt to sabotage the film’s release. The Last Jedi became an infamous example of how fandom can turn toxic, especially when racist and sexist social media attacks on star Kelly Marie Tran came to light.
With half a decade of hindsight (and a critical re-evaluation of the two J.J. Abrams-directed films in the sequel trilogy), The Last Jedi is starting to be seen as not just the best film in recent Star Wars memory, but possibly even one of the best films of the entire franchise. In a recent interview with Empire, Johnson doubled down on his own warm feelings towards his addition to the Star Wars universe.
“I’m even more proud of it five years on,” Johnson says. “When I was up at bat, I really swung at the ball. I think it’s impossible for any of us to approach Star Wars without thinking about it as a myth that we were raised with, and how that myth, that story, baked itself into us and affected us. The ultimate intent was not to strip away – the intent was to get to the basic, fundamental power of myth. And ultimately I hope the film is an affirmation of the power of the myth of Star Wars in our lives.”
Still, Johnson denies that he was intentionally trying to destroy the established canon of Star Wars. “The final images of the movie, to me, are not deconstructing the myth of Luke Skywalker, they’re building it, and they’re him embracing it,” Johnson explains. “They’re him absolutely defying the notion of, ‘Throw away the past,’ and embracing what actually matters about his myth and what’s going to inspire the next generation. So for me, the process of stripping away is always in the interest of getting to something essential that really matters.”
Basically, Johnson has no regrets about The Last Jedi or some of the more controversial changes he made. That daring sense of pushing the envelope with established intellectual property probably won’t be seen again any time soon (especially with the Star Wars franchise, which pivoted hard into retroactive fan service for The Rise of Skywalker), hence the appreciation for The Last Jedi the continues on five years later.
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