The Star Wars sequels have been the subject of fierce debate since their release, and The Last Jedi has come in for some rough criticism in particular. In recent interviews, director Rian Johnson has been doubling down on his pride for the film, and also on his time working with Star Wars legend Mark Hamill. In a new interview with Empire magazine, Johnson discussed how it was a strange thing working with his own ideas and Hamill’s suggestions and opinions. He said:
"I'm choosing my words carefully, not to be diplomatic, but I don't want to frame Mark's experience of this through my lens because there's no possible way I can ever put myself in the shoes of Mark, or Carrie [Fisher], having lived their entire lives being known as these characters and what it's like to play them first in their twenties, and then to come back and play them in these movies and have a script handed to you saying, 'Well, it's this now'... I can never fathom what that experience is like. It's impossible.
If Mark Hamill is talking to me about Luke Skywalker, I'm gonna listen to him, and I gotta think about that and argue with him and go back and forth. Genuinely plumb the depths of my soul and what I wrote and figure out if this seems right. Also, though, remembering that, obviously, he created the character on screen, but he's Mark Hamill, he's not literally Luke Skywalker. Luke Skywalker lives as a creation on that screen. He's a myth. And as such, he only really lives in the minds of people who listen to and in various ways believe that myth. And I know that was me. So, it's complicated.”
Rian Johnson May Still Get To Make His Star Wars Trilogy
Although The Last Jedi was a massively divisive entry in the Star Wars franchise, Rian Johnson could still make his planned trilogy of Star Wars movies sometime in the future. At the moment, there is a lot of uncertainty about the movie future of the franchise, with a number of films being put on the back burner, including Patti Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron, which at one point was meant to be release this year, but is now seemingly indefinitely on hold.
However, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said back in May that Johnson’s trilogy is still very much alive at the studio, and only seems to have stalled due to his work on Netflix’s Knives Out sequels, the first of which is due for release later this year. Whether this is news is something that Star Wars fans can get excited about following the audience’s so-so response to The Last Jedi will be found out in time, but for those not on board there are plenty of other projects in the works.
As well as a new season of The Mandalorian, other new content includes The Acolyte, Andor, numerous animated shows and Taika Waititi’s foray into the Star Wars universe. With Lucasfilm wanting to focus on big screen movies again, that list will of course expand soon, and the first announcements could be revealed during this year’s Disney+ Day or D23 Expo.