‘The Last Jedi’ Reaction Won’t Influence New Trilogy

To say that the reaction to Star Wars: The Last Jedi was divided was an understatement. There seems to be no middle ground between fans, with everyone seemingly either loving it or hating it. Prior to that film’s release, it was announced that writer/director Rian Johnson would be in charge of developing his own brand-new trilogy. So, regardless of people’s reactions to the film, Johnson is currently hard at work on developing this new story set in the unexplored vastness of Star Wars universe.

But for those who were less enthused about Johnson gaining even more creative control with this new trilogy, you might not want to get your hopes up about Johnson changing his “approach”–for lack of a better term. Speaking with Fandango’s Erik Davis at SXSW this past week–where the making-of doc The Director and the Jedi premiered to glowing reviews–Johnson was asked if he would be taking fan criticisms into account when crafting his new trilogy:

[quote]“No, not really. I feel like every Star Wars thing that ever gets made has a big, loud response because Star Wars fans are passionate and that’s what makes them awesome. But no, and I don’t think it’s possible—if you’re really telling a story you care about and having it come from your heart, it’s just not possible to be intellectually processing what everyone else wants. Nor would it be a good thing, a healthy thing. I don’t think that’s a good way to tell a story.”[/quote]

While this could easily be taken as Johnson brushing off the negative criticisms of his work on The Last Jedi, it also makes sense from both a filmmaking perspective, as well as the sanity of Johnson himself. As an auteur, Johnson has proven through his filmography that he’s not the kind of director that would ever make something that wasn’t wholly his own. As a fan of Johnson’s all the back to Brick, I can’t wait to see what Johnson manages to conjure up with this new trilogy.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is currently out on blu-ray everywhere. In the meantime, you can check out the full interview from SXSW below:

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