Star Wars' most polarizing film, The Last Jedi is celebrating its fifth anniversary later this December, and over the years, Episode VIII has continuously generated quite the reaction from the franchise's most passionate followers. While the Rian Johnson-directed film had a cult-like following, longtime fans of the Skywalker saga felt alienated by his take on arguably the biggest science-fiction property out there.
Initially, the Knives Out filmmaker admitted that the backlash he received from directing the film affected him in more ways than one. Now, Rian seems a lot more comfortable talking about the sequel trilogy entry and he feels nothing but pride.
Revisiting the divisive film in his Empire Magazine feature, Johnson said that he's proud of the work he did with Episode VIII and addressed the fan's criticism of the way Luke Skywalker's arc was handled. According to Johnson, they were building the Jedi Master's myth contrary to the fandom's opinion that it made no sense.
He said: "The final images of the movie, to me, are not deconstructing the myth of Luke Skywalker, they're building it, and they're him embracing it. They're him absolutely defying the notion of, 'Throw away the past,' and embracing what actually matters about his myth and what's going to inspire the next generation. So for me, the process of stripping away is always in the interest of getting to something essential that really matters."
Also Read: The Last Jedi: Rian Johnson to Revisit 'Legacy' of Star Wars' Most Polarizing Film
In other Rian Johnson news, in case you were unaware, the director is set to make his Star Wars comeback to work on a new trilogy. Details about the project have remained scarce and it led to some fans thinking that the trilogy has been canned.
However, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy has assured everyone that it will move forward although a timetable has not been set. Hopefully, things will turn out differently for Johnson this time around.
Disney's Star Wars sequel trilogy can be streamed exclusively on Disney+.
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