When people think about the Star Wars franchise, the words "science fiction" and "serious" are always the ones that come to mind, given its science and technology connection that complements the futuristic narrative of space, time travel, and other telestial lives outside the Earth. That said, it’s very uncommon to label the franchise as humorous, but Star Wars: The Last Jedi's director thinks otherwise.
Speaking recently with GQ, filmmaker Rian Johnson defended the Star Wars sequel he worked on due to some fans questioning the humor he presented in his work. “Everyone has a different take. I know there are Star Wars fans who somehow think that Star Wars was a serious thing,” he reasoned. “Anyone who thinks that slightly goofy humor does not have a place in the Star Wars universe, I don’t know if they’ve seen Return of the Jedi.”
Johnson provided two examples to justify his claim about Star Wars providing natural funny scenes in the past: “There's literally a scene where Han Solo is you know, like a cartoon, like trussed up to a pole, and a torch goes by him to light the fire to cook him and Han Solo does this [puffing quickly].” he narrated.
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The director also referenced the scene where Chewbacca pretends to be a prisoner to escape the Death Star. He recalled, “The little imperial droid comes up, Chewbacca roars at it, and the droid, like a scared dog, goes [screeching].”
Despite the humorous scenes needing a keen eye to notice in previous Star Wars installments, Johnson believes that they've always been integral to the franchise. The recent Star Wars projects are embracing the comedy aspect, making fans see them instantly, as evidently in The Mandalorian and Andor on Disney Plus.
“The slightly self-aware elements of gleeful humour are something that is part and parcel to Star Wars,” the filmmaker affirmed. “It’s not the whole thing. And we get very serious in the movie as well. I think that the brazen balance of those two things is also something that’s part of Star Wars.”
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Star Wars is a big franchise that isn't supposed to be put in a box and labeled with one particular genre, owing to its action-packed scenes and diverse narrative that is presented in a hundred different ways. There is always room for both comedy and solemn elements, especially when they are executed well.
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