Depending on how much time you’ve been spending online lately, reactions toStar Wars: The Last Jedihave been quite strong. Indeed, while the film is making boocoos of money and reviews are wildly positive, there’s a very vocal contingent who appear to feel personally slighted by the film, specifically its rebuffing of expectations in favor of charting new territory. Indeed,The Last Jedigoes to some uncomfortable places when it comes to beloved characters like Luke Skywalker, but each and every one of writer/directorRian Johnson’s decisions is firmly rooted in furthering the development of the characters and theme of hisThe Force Awakenssequel.
While some may contend Johnson planned on “shocking” fans all along, the filmmaker has been pretty candid that that was never his intention (indeed, he wrote the script beforeThe Force Awakenseven came out). And he’s now taken to Twitter to not only state his intention, but make a very good point about the conversations that are happening now:
Mark Hamillrecently came out andelaborated on his disagreementswith where Luke Skywalker goes in this story, but he also said this is Rian’s story, and he was there to serve the vision of this filmmaker. And indeed, I think Johnson’s point here gets to the heart of the matter—these newStar Warsfilms are not the story of Luke, Han, and Leia. The protagonist ofThe Force Awakensis Rey (Daisy Ridley), who we now know isnota Skywalker (at least untilJ.J. Abramsdecides to retcon that parents reveal inEpisode IX). The other main characters are a stormtrooper and a Resistance pilot, again none of whom are related or even intimately connected to the Skywalker clan.
Given that the crux of this new trilogy is rooted in new characters, Johnson’s decisions inThe Last Jediset upEpisode IXas a conclusion to the arc of Rey, Finn, Poe, and of course Kylo Ren, whoisa Skywalker but who serves as the trilogy’s antagonist. It’s a fascinating character dynamic, and Johnson reshuffled the deck in a way that setsEpisode IXup to be an incredibly emotional affair. Basically, every decision Johnson made inThe Last Jedifurthered our investment in all of these characters—including Kylo Ren—and that makes the stakes forEpisode IXso much more compelling.
And he’s right, this is a conversation that was going to happen sooner or later. As soon asGeorge Lucassold Lucasfilm to Disney, theStar Warsmovies ceased to be his stories. Indeed, Abrams andKathleen Kennedyessentially threw out the outline Lucas created for this new trilogy and started anew, paving a path that would A. Create an entire new generation of fans and B. Yes, sell lots and lots of toys, merchandise, and theme park tickets. If Lucasfilm wants to make aStar Warsmovie every year until the end of time, these can’t be insular films. They have to expand and grow far beyond not just the Skywalker clan but the entire mythos surrounding that story.
The Force Awakensset up curious although ill-defined expectations, as Han Solo (Harrison Ford) was a major character in that film. ButThe Last Jediconfirms the story of Han, Luke, and Leia concluded inReturn of the Jedi. They’re ancillary characters now, passing the baton to a whole new series of characters and storytellers. It’s hard to imagineStar Warswithout them, but it has to happen, andThe Last Jediwas a major step in that direction.
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