Star Wars: Oscar Isaac Compares 'The Last Jedi' Backlash to the Prequels

As Poe Dameron, actor Oscar Isaac plays one of the most important new characters in the Star Wars franchise, and he'll continue to play a role next year when Star Wars: Episode IX premieres in theaters.

Isaac is not ignorant of the criticisms heaped on the franchise after the last installment, as Star Wars: The Last Jedi was one of the most divisive films among longtime fans. But the actor isn't paying attention to the negativity.

"Luckily, since I'm not directing it, producing it, or distributing it, I don't have to worry so much about fan expectations," Isaac told IndieWire. "Also, not all fans have the same expectations."

Isaac likened the fan backlash to the reaction the received by the prequel movies when George Lucas directed them.

"People had very strong feelings, but there wasn't as much of an organized way to speak out about it," Isaac said, noting the major change in how fans interact nowadays. "People that run blogs and websites need content. So it's like, 'There's some content!' Five people on Twitter. Hundreds. Whatever it is. Then you make it into a story."

The actor also recognized that not everyone is going to enjoy everything, especially in the Star Wars galaxy.

"You make a movie and people are supposed to like, or not like it, or not care about it," Isaac added. "Those are the only three options. So it's not shocking that one of those things happened."

While fan reaction is one thing, there is a real concern among Disney executives about the sustainability of the franchise. After Solo: A Star Wars Story failed to meet box office expectations, Disney CEO Bob Iger decided to scale back the frequency of Lucasfilm's movie output moving forward.

"I made the timing decision, and as I look back, I think the mistake that I made — I take the blame — was a little too much, too fast. You can expect some slowdown, but that doesn't mean we're not gonna make films. J.J. [Abrams] is busy making [Episode] IX," Iger said to the Hollywood Reporter. "We have creative entities, including [Game of Thrones creators David] Benioff and [D.B.] Weiss, who are developing sagas of their own, which we haven't been specific about. And we are just at the point where we're gonna start making decisions about what comes next after J.J.'s. But I think we're gonna be a little bit more careful about volume and timing. And the buck stops here on that."

Fans can expect the next installment, Star Wars: Episode IX, to premiere in theaters in December, 2019.