The Last Jedi Director Rian Johnson More Proud of Movie Than Ever

Rian Johnson is more proud of The Last Jedi than ever. The director spoke to Empire Magazine about the movie five years later. It’s been an interesting ride for Johnson as merely mentioning the film online starts an argument about Star Wars as a whole. He told Empire, “I’m even more proud of it five years on. When I was up at bat, I really swung at the ball.” That last part is undeniably true when looking at the text by itself. However, that’s not doing it for some people. The Last Jedi makes a point to deconstruct some of the central ideas and figures at the heart of Star Wars lore. A choice like that was never going to sit well with some of the fans. Unfortunately, there’s not a desire to dig a little bit deeper for a lot of this fandom. However, the director himself is feeling good about the project and there are plenty of fans who love that movie as well. Star Wars continues to move forward into whatever is next. But, Johnson’s work within the world of Lucasfilm will always draw a strong reaction. Check out what else he had to say down below.

“I think it’s impossible for any of us to approach Star Wars without thinking about it as a myth that we were raised with, and how that myth, that story, baked itself into us and affected us,” Johnson reflected. “The ultimate intent was not to strip away – the intent was to get to the basic, fundamental power of myth. And ultimately I hope the film is an affirmation of the power of the myth of Star Wars in our lives.”

“The final images of the movie, to me, are not deconstructing the myth of Luke Skywalker, they’re building it, and they’re him embracing it,” the director continued. “They’re him absolutely defying the notion of, ‘Throw away the past,’ and embracing what actually matters about his myth and what’s going to inspire the next generation. So for me, the process of stripping away is always in the interest of getting to something essential that really matters.”

The social media backlash against the movie was so strong that Kelly Marie Tran decided to leave the different platforms all together because of harassment. She told ET Online that it was just the best decision for herself.

“I mean, I think that, you know, it’s a different decision for everyone,” Tran said. “And I think that people should do what they think is right for them. I also think that … it was the best thing I ever did. I don’t know. It’s funny, it feels like people are still shocked by it sometimes. I’m like, no … I just did what was best for me.”

How do you feel about The Last Jedi? Let us know down in the comments!