Star Wars: The Last Jedi Director Rian Johnson Defends His Treatment of Luke Skywalker

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is now in theaters, and while the Star Wars fandom is definitely busy dissecting the film, Rise of Skywalker has inevitably inspired some renewed conversation about Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and the unique approach that director Rian Johnson took with that film. No doubt one of the most controversial aspects of The Last Jedi was the story arc of Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker, who went from the heroic victory in Return of the Jedi to being a curmudgeonly recluse with Jedi PTSD.

Well, fans are once again tearing down the version of Luke Skywalker that Rian Johnson presented in Star Wars: The Last Jedi - and Johnson has once again taken to Twitter to mount his own defense:

Gil, I understand that point of view but I completely disagree with it. In fact I think it disrespects the character of Luke by treating him not as a true mythic hero overcoming recurring wounds & flaws, but as a video game character who has achieved a binary, permanent power-up.

— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) December 20, 2019

As you can see above, a Star Wars fans shared a lengthy breakdown on Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi - by a Twitter account that's basically dedicated to full-time hating on Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi:

"This is the best written explanation I've seen of how @rianjohnson completely destroys the character of #LukeSkywalker and almost derailed the franchise. Thank goodness for @bad_robot coming in and cleaning up Johnson's mess. #TheRiseOfSkywalker" --@danaCreative

As has become customary, Johnson didn't ignore the comment, or block the fan, but rather his own perspective on why he made the choice he did with Luke's storyline:

"...I understand that point of view but I completely disagree with it. In fact I think it disrespects the character of Luke by treating him not as a true mythic hero overcoming recurring wounds & flaws, but as a video game character who has achieved a binary, permanent power-up." --Rian Johnson

As always, these types of matters are subjective, but I must confess some editorial bias in believing in Johnson's side of the argument. As you can see, in my opinion, the Skywalker Saga actually tells a much different story:

The Skywalker Saga is a story of success begetting failure begetting wisdom and balance.

That's what happened to Anakin multiple times during his life. Same for Luke. Same for Ben.

People who keep arguing Luke is a tarnished hero b/c of TLJ Never Understood Skywalkers' Saga.

— Kofi Outlaw (@KofiOutlaw) December 20, 2019

How do you feel about Luke Skywalker's Last Jedi arc after The Rise of Skywalker? Let us know in the comments!

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters on December 20th. The Mandalorian streams new episodes every Friday on Disney+.