As the King of the Nerds, fanboys often look to Kevin Smith for guidance and wisdom when it comes to all things geek, and this no doubt includes matters over STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI. Fans are divided like never before, with some adoring the different take on the saga, and other’s unmoved by Luke’s (Mark Hamill) nomad beard. But the CLERKS director has finally spoken, and he has some theories as to why some fans are so displeased.
In the first episode of the new year, Smith took to his Fatman on Batman podcast to talk about many things, including the new Star Wars movie. His big point is that some fans walked away from the movie in such a huff because, as Star Wars fans, they had their own set of expectations and theories going into the movie, and were thrown for a loop when things didn’t go the way they thought.
I think at the end of the day, audience expectation plays into that. Like when, you know, you’re like, “Alright the next movie is going to be all about Luke and I’ve seen Luke in the trailer and I know exactly who Luke Skywalker is and now he looks like Obi-Wan so he’s going to be like this version of Obi-Wan,” and then they give you a version of Luke that even Mark Hamill reportedly was like “I don’t know, is this really supposed to be Luke Skywalker? He’s not the one I remember.” Some people, it hit them the wrong way in a big way. I’ve seen, it’s not just people going like, ‘Oh, I didn’t like it,’ when they don’t like it. It’s vitriolic, as if somebody f*cked up their childhood.
Though some fans criticized FORCE AWAKENS for being too similar to the very first Star Wars movie (and dislike LAST JEDI for being too different), the movie was a massive hit earning overall rave reviews and $2 billion worldwide. The franchise was redeemed in many people’s eyes, and LAST JEDI had that massive achievement to top. Such expectations may have doomed the movie, according to Smith.
With Force Awakens you get the nostalgia rush, like, maybe we weren’t as judgy about that movie as people are being about Last Jedi because like… we’re going to make three Star Wars movies, here’s the first one and there ain’t a hint of Jar Jar in it, enjoy, and so the audience is, “Oh god it’s f*cking back,” and now that they’ve had that moment, the next one had a tall order because you lose the joy of surprise and like your childhood is back and sh*t and now you just have to tell a real story.
Smith makes some great points, and he nails the reason for all the backlash right on the head. Some people may not like it for more technical reasons (story, character development, script, etc.), but clearly fans wanted something from this movie that they didn't get, whether it be answers about Rey's parents (at one that hinted she's a long-lost Skywalker or something), hearing more about Snoke's history, and more. Rian Johnson tried to do something different with JEDI, and not everyone is appreciative. Maybe this means expectations will be low for EPISODE IX, so prepare for people to talk about awesome that movie is.