Star Wars: Rian Johnson Wants You To Be Surprised By 'The Last Jedi's Humor

The Last Jedi hits theaters in less than three weeks and, thanks to the barrage of marketing materials, fans can start to feel like they've virtually seen the entire film. Writer/director of the film Rian Johnson hopes that, when audiences see the final film, they're surprised by how much fun it is, given how depressing much of the marketing materials have been.

"That's one thing I hope people will be surprised about with the movie. I think it's very funny," Johnson shared. "The trailers have been kind of dark – the movie has that, but I also made a real conscious effort for it to be a riot. I want it to have all the things tonally that I associate with Star Wars, which is not just the Wagner of it. It's also the Flash Gordon."

Even before marketing materials began to surface about the upcoming film, audiences were drawing comparisons to how this new trilogy of films would mirror the original trilogy, making this upcoming installment a surrogate Empire Strikes Back. Despite these presumptions, Johnson has cited a different film in the saga as his inspiration for the upcoming installment.

"The automatic temptation is to say, 'Well it's a middle chapter, so it's got kind of that Empire thing,'" the director revealed to Fandango's Erik Davis at D23. "But at the same time, I really wanted to maintain the same sense of fun that J.J. [Abrams] had in The Force Awakens, that to some extent in Return Of The Jedi, which I was like 10 years old, that was prime for me when that came out, and the sense of playfulness, I think."

The director did clarify that there are some similarities to Empire Strikes Back but, given how that film ends on a somber note, clarified that his film wasn't designed to mimic that tone.

"So when I say Empire, I guess I don't want to give the impression that it's kind of a dark, gloom and doom," Johnson clarified. "It was also really important to me that this was a fun adventure. I don't know, it's a mixed bag of a lot of different stuff. And hopefully some unique stuff too."

We'll see how The Last Jedi compares with the original trilogy when it lands in theaters on December 15.

[H/T Rolling Stone]