Rian Johnson Inspired J.J. Abrams to Take More Risks with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is considered a divisive movie among fans, and a lot of people are happy that Rian Johnson won't be taking the helm with The Rise of Skywalker. Despite the hate going toward Johnson by a huge chunk of the fanbase, director J.J. Abrams says that it was actually Johnson that inspired him to make bolder choices when it came to TROS.

Talking to Vanity Fair, Abrams explained:

"Having seen what Rian did make me approach this from a place of instinct and gut. I was making choices I knew I would not have made on VII, some story-wise, but more in terms of directing. I found myself feeling less like I'm going to try and do something that feels like it's [only] true to the specifics of this franchise or the story."

Though The Force Awakens was a huge hit when it came out, a lot of criticism about it came from the fact that it just followed the main story beats of A New Hope. Hopefully, with TROS, Abrams will take more risks when it comes to the story, and give us a satisfying end when it comes to the sequel trilogy.

Personally, I was a huge fan of The Last Jedi, and I thought Johnson made some really great choices when it came to the character of Luke Skywalker. I guess when it comes to the fans that hate it, a lot of them really wanted to see Luke go all out with his Force powers. With Luke using his last breath to make a huge non-violent distraction to the First Order though, some say that it was the most Jedi move anyone could ever come up with.

Catch Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in theaters Dec. 20.

See Also: J.J. Abrams on Why Carrie Fisher is in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker