https://www.cbr.com/rian-johnson-star-wars-savior/
Sorry, Last Jedi Haters, But Rian Johnson May Be Star Wars' Savior
A substantial portion of the
Star Wars fanbase was turned off the franchise after Rian Johnson's
The Last Jedi back in 2017. Though a substantial amount of the outrage people saw online following the film's cinematic release was
evidently due to Russian bots, there were more than a few real fans who reacted negatively to the film and toward Johnson, who wrote and directed it.
That was exemplified by the events that unfolded on Twitter recently, when a rumor began to circulate that Johnson was going to be stepping back from the franchise and that his planned trilogy had been canceled. These rumors spread fast, thanks in part to SuperBrosMovies, only
to be debunked just as quickly, much to the disappointment of Johnson's most ardent detractors. The site has since published an apology, which Johnson has humbly accepted.
There are a lot of
Star Wars fans out there that would love to see Rian Johnson removed from the franchise, just because of a few elements of
The Last Jedi, which is somewhat unreasonable. The film was far from perfect, and some of the most vocal critics have established some valid reasons for wanting to shun it, criticizing specific elements as opposed to writing off the entire film like some. However, no matter what your stance is on the matter, there's no denying that Johnson was able to produce something unique, which is exactly what the
Star Wars franchise needs going forward.
Before some of you leave to grab your pitchforks, let's take a look at what the film saga thus far has brought us, along with the anthology films and television shows.
The original trilogy offered something new to cinema with its setting, characters and concepts. The story revolved around Luke Skywalker discovering the Force, learning how to connect with it and break through the limitations he imposed on himself so he could free his father and the galaxy from the evil of the Emperor. The prequel trilogy built on that by presenting the story of Anakin Skywalker to show us how someone could easily fall, no matter how noble their drive.
It's been 40 years since
A New Hope, and the franchise continues to revolve around the Skywalker bloodline without really providing audiences with anything new. To do that, Lucasfilm has nearly exhausted the franchise of any kind of much needed mystery until, as we've started to see, the smallest details are being mined for narrative building material. Nowhere was that more painfully clear than in
Solo: A Star Wars Story (directed by Ron Howard), which many fans found to misuse the characters and world at its disposal in order to expand on generally uninteresting details like the origin of those dice or how Han Solo got his blaster.
The entirety of
Rogue One (directed by Gareth Edwards) revolved around one very specific detail from
A New Hope and it was a great film, but using minor details from beloved films as the basis for an entire story is no way to continue a franchise.
Star Wars -- with regard to the films in particular -- needs to start innovating with characters and stories.
Outside of the comic books, novels and video games, the
Star Wars franchise has always seemed trapped in the same story about the Skywalker family, the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire. The sequel trilogy has inched away from it when it should have made strides.
When the franchise returned to cinemas with
The Force Awakens (directed by J.J. Abrams), fans excitedly praised the film only to realize over time (after the nostalgic charm wore off) that the film, including its plot and some of its characters, were complete replicas of
A New Hope. A Force-sensitive hero from a desert planet is forced to leave their home, meet Han and Chewie and embark on a dangerous mission to destroy a Death Star, or in this case a "Death Planet," in the form of Starkiller base. The only truly unique character is the former Stormtrooper.
There were different faces and names, but that's virtually all the film had to offer the franchise, which did not bode well for Disney's sequel trilogy.
Enter
The Last Jedi, which brought audiences a new tone, new characters, concepts and more while adhering to the plot it had to continue. Again, the film definitely had its flaws, no one is claiming that
The Last Jedi was the greatest
Star Wars film of all time. It may not have been the greatest, but out of the entries we've seen over the last two decades, it was certainly the most intriguing.
Rian Johnson wasn't afraid to play around with everything the franchise had introduced in the past. The Force was used in new and exciting ways, and the Resistance employed different strategies that may not have been practical, but were certainly gorgeous to watch.
The film even introduced fresh mysteries to familiar characters like Luke Skywalker, who was depicted as being a bitter old hermit instead of the perfect hero everyone expected him to be. It's far more interesting and adds more depth to the character. Whether or not you agree, it's undeniable that Johnson has some original ideas to offer, and he's likely to prove that with his trilogy, unhindered by the need to build around anything audiences have seen dozens of times already.
Fans have expressed their resentment for what they perceive to be Disney's attempt at squeezing a beloved title for every toy and merchandising opportunity it can get. Rian Johnson, who has proven himself an avid Star Wars fan, can change that by creating a unique story, not because he wants to help sell toys, but because he has a story he wants to tell that will make that galaxy far, far away feel that much bigger.
So, to the overly critical fans we'll say this: Rian Johnson hasn't ruined the franchise, he's brought hope to it.
