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When asked by The New Yorker if he still gets excited about the franchise as a fan, Johnson proclaimed, “Oh, f-ck yeah. Yeah. My God. Yeah. In terms of that, I think I love Star Wars even more now. I think what actually frustrates me is people’s perception that I had a negative experience somehow, or people’s perception that it was somehow a traumatic experience, or something. The reality is that it was a completely joyful experience even through the back end of it, the past few years, the reception of it.”
Fans having conflicting reactions to Star Wars movies isn’t at all a new concept, with the prequels notably being met with disappointment from adult fans while younger audiences felt the same magic that older fans felt when seeing the original trilogy. The big difference, of course, is that social media allowed those toxic reactions to The Last Jedi feel louder and even offered the opportunity for critics to directly attack Johnson and members of the film’s cast.
In regards to whether he took vocal criticisms personally, Johnson confirmed, “No. And, when I read what those people were actually saying, I was, like, ‘Oh, I completely disagree with this.’ They’re wrong. For me. Everybody can like whatever they want and not like what they want. And Star Wars fans, in particular — growing up as one, arguing about other people’s opinions being wrong is sort of the bread and butter of it all. I didn’t feel crushed. Like, ‘Oh, no, I didn’t make a real Star Wars movie.’ I felt, like, ‘No, I did.’”
Even though there haven’t been official updates on Johnson’s planned trilogy of films, there doesn’t seem to be any love lost between him and Lucasfilm, yet with reports that Disney isn’t happy with Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy announcing filmmakers who don’t have firm plans for a project, it’s still possible that Johnson’s trilogy will never move forward.
Stay tuned for updates on Johnson’s Star Wars projects.
What do you think of the filmmaker’s remarks? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!
