Speaking recently with The New Yorker, Johnson was asked whether the discourse on his film tainted his experience as a Star Wars fan. He responded by clarifying that he still loves the franchise and expressed his frustration over the misconception that he had a negative experience with its reception. “Oh, fuck yeah. Yeah. My God. Yeah. In terms of that, I think I love Star Wars even more now,” he said. “I think what actually frustrates me is people’s perception that I had a negative experience somehow, or people’s perception that it was somehow a traumatic experience, or something. The reality is that it was a completely joyful experience even through the back end of it, the past few years, the reception of it.” The director also clarified that he actually loves discussing the film and he doesn’t mind the negative responses that he is receiving from fans since he knows that it is a normal part of discourse, especially when it comes to being a Star Wars fan.
“No. And, when I read what those people were actually saying, I was, like, ‘Oh, I completely disagree with this’ They’re wrong. For me. Everybody can like whatever they want and not like what they want,” Johnson explained. “And Star Wars fans, in particular—growing up as one, arguing about other people’s opinions being wrong is sort of the bread and butter of it all. I didn’t feel crushed. Like, ‘Oh, no, I didn’t make a real Star Wars movie.’ I felt, like, ‘No, I did.’” Despite the major backlash that The Last Jedi received from some fans all over the years, it is great to see that Johnson is not taking it all personally and he welcomed every conversation that it created whether it’s positive or negative. After all, it is subjective and everyone is entitled to form their own opinion based on their experience. The director is also still developing his own Star Wars trilogy which is currently on the backburner due to his work on the Knives Out franchise and the other projects that he’s also attached to. It would be interesting to see whether he does end up making an official return to the franchise soon. Also Read: Mark Hamill Forced to Admit Yet Again that Star Wars Holiday Special Sucked All Star Wars films are available to stream on Disney+.
