Rian Johnson is once again revisiting the backlash to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and this time he’s not pretending it caught him off guard. In a new interview tied to the promotion of his upcoming Netflix film Wake Up Dead Man, Johnson openly claims that the massive fan backlash was not only expected — it was preferred.
Luke Skywalker Drinks Green Milk in Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi – Disney+
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According to Johnson, ignoring fans was the correct choice, even if it fractured the Star Wars audience and permanently damaged the sequel trilogy’s reputation. For those following the ongoing Rian Johnson Star Wars Pushback debate, his comments amount to a doubling down rather than reflection.
Rian Johnson Says He “Hoped For” The Last Jedi Backlash
Speaking to Polygon in a Zoom interview, Johnson admitted that he never feared fan outrage over The Last Jedi. In fact, he says he anticipated it.
“I was hoping for that — I wasn’t afraid of it per se,” Johnson said.
Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico kisses Finn, played by John Boyega in Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi – Disney+
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By his own admission, backlash wasn’t collateral damage — it was part of the creative calculation.
Johnson Claims Playing It Safe Would Have Been the “Worst Sin”
Johnson seemed to frame audience expectations as something that needed to be challenged, not respected. According to him, restraint would have been more damaging than division.
“The worst sin is to handle it with kid gloves,” he said. “The worst sin is to be afraid of doing anything that shakes it up.”
Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), Lucasfilm
The implication is clear: honoring established characters, tone, and long-running mythology would have resulted in a weaker film in the director’s mind. In Johnson’s view, subversion itself is the virtue — regardless of whether it serves the story or the franchise.
Comparing The Last Jedi Backlash to Earlier Star Wars Films
To defend his approach, Johnson leaned on a familiar argument — that Star Wars fans have “always” reacted negatively to change.
“Because every Star Wars movie going back to Empire and onward shook the box and rattled fans, and got them angry, and got them fighting, and got them talking about it,” he said.
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker contemplates murdering his nephew Ben Solo in Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), Lucasfilm
However, critics have long pointed out a crucial difference: earlier debates didn’t result in audience disengagement, collapsing box office momentum, or Disney quietly distancing itself from entire eras of storytelling.
Johnson Insists Fans Will “Come Around Eventually”
Despite the long-term fallout, Johnson maintains that history will vindicate his decisions.
“And then for a lot of them, got them loving it and coming around on it eventually,” he said.
Daisy Ridley as Rey in The Last Jedi (2017), Lucasfilm
Unlike The Empire Strikes Back, which strengthened the franchise over time, The Last Jedi marked the beginning of Star Wars’ theatrical decline, culminating in creative reversals and an abandoned sequel-era roadmap.
What Johnson Still Refuses to Acknowledge
Notably absent from Johnson’s comments is any acknowledgment of consequence. He does not address the shelving of his planned Star Wars trilogy. He does not grapple with declining audience trust. And he does not concede that “shaking things up” without narrative cohesion carries a cost.
Daisy Ridley as Rey in The Last Jedi (2017), Lucasfilm
Instead, fans are framed as resistant, fragile, or simply needing time to accept what they were given.
The Cost of Ignoring the Audience
Johnson’s latest remarks reinforce what many fans concluded years ago: The Last Jedi was never about misunderstanding the audience — it was about disregarding them.
Finn battles Captain Phasma in Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi – Disney+
If the film truly would have been “worse” had it listened to fans, then the current state of Star Wars serves as a case study in how costly that philosophy turned out to be.
What do you think about Rian Johnson and the pushback he received over Star Wars? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
“The Last Jedi was never about misunderstanding the audience — it was about disregarding them.”
Rian did the unpossible in making TLJ the excrement installment it was. I’d say, rather than disregarding the audience and fans, he actively disrespected them. It is too bad he’s had enough support to make the Knives Out movies and the rest he was able to glom onto since TLJ. If there was any justice he would never make another film or TV show.
For many people it would have been enough to not ignore Mark Hamill during the producitons.
If your creed is “hoping for outrage” and not “pleasing the fans”, you’re doing it wrong and we have nothing to talk about, my dude. It’s like a musician turning someone else’s beloved rock ballad and turning it into a dubstep/doo-wap crossover abomination and honestly expecting the fans of the original to come around to his take. Man that dude is broken.
F*** Rian Johnson, Kathleen Kennedy, and Discanon (Disney) “Star Wars.”
They’ve never apologized for what they did to the Star Wars franchise, and therefore I will not forgive them.
Filoni sucks, too. The entire character of Ahsoka may be the most ridiculous retcon ever.
I honestly don’t understand the logic of intentionally pissing off your customers. It’s like a Chef refusing to serve steaks and instead serving Tofu and still defending his decision years later after the eatery closes because nobody wanted Tofu.
This man not only killed Star Wars..but a whole subset of nerd culture and he’s still acting like he was right.