Star Wars: Rian Johnson Explains How the Prequels Influenced Kylo's Final 'The Last Jedi' Scene
One of the most impressive elements of writer/director Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi is the ways in [...]
One of the most impressive elements of writer/director Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi is the ways in which the film connected not only to the original trilogy of Star Wars films, but also the prequels. During a recent IMAX Q&A event, Johnson confirmed that one of the more emotional moments for Kylo Ren was directly inspired by a moment in Revenge of the Sith.
When a fan asked about Kylo Ren's emotions when he saw the Millennium Falcon fly off of Crait while holding Han Solo's dice, Johnson joked, "That is such a great question. Will you be mad if I said that it's such a great question, I don't want to answer it?"
"Only because I think that's such a beautiful notion of 'what does he regret in that moment,' it's the same way I think about in Revenge of the Sith, that mask is coming down, that beautiful shot of Anakin's eyes right before it goes over and you see that glimpse of… Is it fear? Is it regret? What is it? What is going through his mind at that moment?" the filmmaker elaborated. "That's that kind of moment for Ben and I don't want to put that moment in your guys' head. I feel like that's a moment that everyone should read into themselves. But just posing that question is really beautiful."
Johnson also shared with audiences that he regularly watched the prequels, due in large part to how much of the original trilogy he had committed to memory.
"I watched the prequels a lot actually, and that goes for the writing and while we were in prep. I think partially because the original trilogy was the ones that I know by heart, shot for shot," Johnson confirmed. "The prequels - I knew them really well but I saw them less so I kind of wanted to steep myself in that visual language a lot more before I got into it. "
He added, "The notion of finding echoes, not just in the original trilogy but also in the prequel trilogy felt like just a really rich well to draw from. So I kept the original trilogy and also the prequels just on my iPad that I had with me all the time and at night I would just put it on in a random spot and watch pieces of it."
The Last Jedi is in theaters now.