Star Wars: Rian Johnson Wouldn't Change 'The Last Jedi,' Despite Backlash

The Last Jedi debuted to overwhelming critical praise, heightening fans' hopes to astronomical levels. Many audiences commended the bold decisions by writer/director Rian Johnson, yet an incredibly vocal minority took issue with the ambitious avenues the film explored, resulting in Johnson being subjected to passionate hatred. Despite the unexpected hatred directed towards the filmmaker, Johnson claimed he'd make all the same decisions were he to have to make the film all over again.

The filmmaker explained to The /Filmcast that on the film's Thursday night opening, he was killing time before many planned introductions at various screenings, when a series of "hate tweets" began pouring in.

"The crazy thing is, I had no perspective on these tweets. I had no perspective in terms of how big a group of people this was, even what they were upset about specifically," Johnson revealed. "Over the next few weeks, I was able to contextualize it and feel much better about it. But at the time, I thought, 'Oh my god, does everybody hate this? Did I totally mess up, was I wrong?' And I had a very dark hour of the soul…because I had no context for this."

Johnson referred to being inundated with those hate tweets as a "hellish hour," yet eventually came to grips with the naysayers being in the minority.

Ignoring the hatred was easier said than done, with Johnson admitting, "When even 5% of the people are saying, 'You ruined Star Wars, I hope you die,' that's what you're going to listen to."

When asked point blank if he'd change any of his decisions, Johnson merely stated, "No, I don't think so."

He added, "I don't even know what that kind of approach would be. You have a way that you tell stories…you just do that."

What makes Johnson's attitude so much more fascinating is how regularly he engages with followers on social media, even those who try to point out errors in his filmmaking. He has earned the right to avoid social media for the next few months, yet has made himself incredibly accessible to fans.

"There's nothing I've read or seen that's made me think, 'Oh god, I did kind of mess that up, I would've done that differently if I could go back,'" Johnson confirmed. "I still genuinely believe in all the decisions I've made."

The Last Jedi is in theaters now.

[H/T The /Filmcast]