Some Star Wars fans are incredibly unhappy with Rian Johnson. Not sure I really need this preamble, but it is worth setting the foundation. Star Wars: The Last Jedi really subverted fan expectations. Many went into the flick looking forward to a few things: finding out who Rey’s parents were, finding out more about Snoke, and seeing Luke Skywalker enter the fight against the First Order. These were expectations Abrams had set up in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, then you may have come out sorely disappointed.
Rey’s parents were not revealed, Snoke was killed before we got to know him, and Luke was kind of a crotchety old man with no desire to join the fight. It ended with Luke projecting himself planets away in a lightsaber battle against Kylo Ren that was only meant to be a distraction so the Resistance could run away. These, among other reasons, are some of the reasons why fans have grown disdainful toward Rian Johnson, and one fan took to Twitter to share his thoughts as to how Rian Johnson is so different from Star Wars creator George Lucas. Here is the choice quote pulled from a Lucas interview:
“You don’t want to kill Luke…I think you alienate the audience…This is a fairy tale. You want everybody to live happily ever after and nothing bad happens to anybody…The whole emotion I am trying to get at the end of the film is for you to be real uplifted, emotionally and spiritually, and feel absolutely good about life.”
https://twitter.com/SYNCHRONICDSGN/status/1009492893126537217
Never one NOT to address criticism, Johnson replied.
Huh. pic.twitter.com/ngeYpIx0DD
— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) June 27, 2018
The Twitter fan also replied, saying:
“I appreciate the response Rian, my main gripes are that you abandoned the spirit and heart of Star Wars in favour of your own ideas, opinions, and mindset, rather than continuing a 40 year legacy. Skywalker and the rest of almost every thing in the film subverted all that was.”
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Johnson himself doesn’t believe his film tarnishes that 40 years legacy, saying that making the films personal are part of what make them special.
“For me TLJ 100% distills what the spirit & heart of SW has been in my life. But yes it is personal, it’s a certain pov, and it has to be – originals were personal for GL, that’s why they’re alive. SW films will truly betray the heart & spirit of the originals if they lose that, and become soulless clean homages. But being alive means being messy, and it means every film won’t line up exactly with what every fan is expecting or wants. I’m sorry TLJ didn’t line up with your own certain pov, really, honestly I am. MTFBWY.”
Do you agree with Johnson? I’m sure plenty of you who have read my own thoughts in the past know where I stand, but what about you? Do any of his comments change anything for you? Let us know your thoughts down below!
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SOURCE: Synchronic Design, Rian Johnson