Bringing up The Last Jedi in Star Wars fandom is the equivalent of touching a hot stove with scorching takes on either side. But this latest bit of news is the most eyebrow-raising thing we’ve heard on that front since release.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, it’s been confirmed that after The Last Jedi, Lucasfilm offered him Star Wars Episode IX, continuing his story, an offer which he turned down. That led to the JJ Abrams-led finale, The Rise of Skywalker, another divisive installment that famously erased most of the storylines Johnson had been building, most notably the fact that Rey did not have a famous Star Wars bloodline. Instead, Abrams revealed she was the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine, a character he brought back out of nowhere.
Without question, The Last Jedi is the most controversial Star Wars project ever made, with a collection of fans positively hating it for various alleged sins against the franchise. Critics were much more kind, and it ended up with a 50% gap in scores, a 91% to a 41% on Rotten Tomatoes between critics and viewers. Only recently have we seen The Acolyte be this controversial, but it’s still nowhere near the fervor The Last Jedi inspired. To this day, I can post that I liked the movie online and get 100 comments instantly debating that (most of them disagreeing).
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – NOVEMBER 21: (L-R) Actor Mark Hamill, film director Rian Johnson, actress Daisy Ridley and film producer Ram Bergman attend a press conference to promote the new film “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” at St Regis Hotel on November 21, 2017 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Victor Chavez/Getty Images)
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It appears that at least Disney originally had the right idea, to let Johnson finish the trilogy with his own story, but in the piece, he talks about how all the hate did get to him on a personal level at a certain point. Later, Johnson was offered a full Star Wars trilogy, something that was briefly entertained but ultimately scrapped.
The rest, as it stands, is history. Rian Johnson has now become a Netflix staple with his Knives Out series of murder mysteries. He’s on his third, Wake Up Dead Man, which will be out December 12 after a limited theatrical run starting on November 26. If there are any issues with the partnership, it’s that Johnson, like many directors working with Netflix, has always hoped for more presence in theaters. Still, his films have been some of the highest-rated Netflix originals that the service has produced. Johnson and star Daniel Craig have routinely said that they would be comfortable simply making these movies forever.
And yet, a glimmer of what could have been and what still might be:
“A part of my brain will always be in Star Wars,” he said. “It’s so much a part of me and the way I think.”
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.