Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Rian Johnson feels “even more proud” of his chapter five years later

Empire has recently covered the upcoming Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, the follow-up to the 2019 whodunnit, Knives Out, inspired by Agatha Christie novels. The magazine interviewed former James Bond, Daniel Craig, on his return to the role from that film, as well as the film’s writer and director, Rian Johnson. In this issue, Johnson also takes the time to reflect on his entry into the Star Wars universe with the sequel, The Last Jedi.

Johnson tells Empire,

I’m even more proud of it five years on. When I was up at bat, I really swung at the ball. 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. 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.”

When addressing why he made the controversial decision to end Luke’s journey with his effort, Johnson explains, “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. 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 Last Jedi is seemingly the franchise’s most debated and divisive chapter. Critics of the film have voiced their displeasure on the entry for mishandling the legacy character, Luke Skywalker, among many other traits they deem to be questionable creative decisions that the movie possesses. Meanwhile, defenders of the film have insisted that the movie had challenged what many had come to expect from the series, with more complex issues and subversive conclusions. 

The Last Jedi would take in over $1 billion globally, and Johnson’s follow-up Knives Out banked over $300 million. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will release on limited screens in November and will be available on Netflix on December 23.

What do you think? Do you agree with him?