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Star Wars: The Last Jedi Rian Johnson has said that solely catering to fans rather than challenging them is “a mistake”.
Johnson’s work on the second entry in the current Star Wars trilogy was met by a wave of criticism upon its release in 2017, with petitions launched to have it remade or removed from the franchise entirely.
Others criticised some of the film’s unexpected plot twists, notably in regards to the parentage of Rey (Daisy Ridley ).
Speaking to the Swing & Mrs Podcast on Radio.com , Johnson has now said that he rejects writing that automatically gives fans what they want.
“I think approaching any creative process with that would be a mistake that would lead to probably the exact opposite result,” Johnson said.
“Even my experience as a fan, you know if I’m coming into something, even if it’s something that I think I want, if I see exactly what I think I want on the screen, it’s like ‘oh, okay,’ it might make me smile and make me feel neutral about the thing and I won’t really think about it afterwards, but that’s not really going to satisfy me.”
Show all 11 1 /11Star Wars films – ranked worst to best Star Wars films – ranked worst to best 11. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) The prequel trilogy has lived on in infamy, but the true low point of this low point in the Star Wars franchise must be Attack of the Clones, the dry, crusted middle of the cinematic sandwich. While Revenge of the Sith has some sense of completion and The Phantom Menace has some sense of wonder, all Attack of the Clones has is a CGI Yoda bopping about the screen like an unswattable fly while battling Christopher Lee’s Count Dooku. It’s a film driven by unnecessary desires: from the space politics, to Boba Fett’s backstory, to Padmé and Anakin’s romance. The latter is the most insufferable, since George Lucas never had much of an ear for dialogue, as notoriously pointed out by Harrison Ford when he declared on set: “George, you can type this s***, but you sure as hell can’t say it.” Which leads us to one of the worst line readings in cinematic history, when Hayden Christensen’s Anakin laments: “I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating – and it gets everywhere.”
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Star Wars films – ranked worst to best 10. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) Hollywood has increasingly made the assumption that “darker” means better when it comes to cinema – it explains why the Harry Potter films look like they were made while someone gradually turned down the dimmer switch on the studio lights. Of course, audiences know that “darker” sometimes means that your protagonist-turned-villain becomes a “youngling”-murdering, amateur street magician-looking sourpuss. Anakin’s arc here comes to a whimper of an ending, underlined by the much-derided decision to have Darth Vader’s first moments onscreen involve him howling “Noooooo!” up to the sky like a mournful hound. That said, Ewan McGregor confirms here that he managed to escape the franchise largely unscathed, as this instalment sees him have the most fun with the clunky dialogue (see: “Hello there!” and “I have the high ground!”).
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Star Wars films – ranked worst to best 9. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) The Phantom Menace escapes slightly ahead of the rest of the prequel trilogy, if only for the fact it remembers these films are meant to be fun once in a while. The pod race – it’s a good scene! Darth Maul is all looks, zero follow through – it’s embarrassing to act like you’ve won, only to be cut in half and sent hurtling down an exhaust pipe – but his inclusion in the film did introduce one of the best musical themes in Star Wars history, John Williams’s “Duel of the Fates”. However, the space politics are a particular drag here, with all the talk of trade disputes, and, of course, it's obligatory to mention the terror that is Jar Jar Binks.
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Star Wars films – ranked worst to best 8. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) Although it’s the weakest of the new generation of Star Wars films, Solo still holds up as a fun romp worthy of Han Solo’s rascal reputation. Alden Ehrenreich picks up on enough of Harrison Ford’s mannerisms to sell the character without sliding into imitation, while Donald Glover is a scene stealer from the very moment he walks on screen as Lando Calrissian. It’s a lost opportunity, then, that the film is otherwise slowed down by an impulse to offer backstory to as many aspects of Han’s character as possible. Did we really need to know how we got the name “Solo”? Really?
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Star Wars films – ranked worst to best 7. Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker Director JJ Abrams, like the hero of an ancient prophecy, was destined to make both enemies and allies with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. There will be arguments. And there will be arguments about the arguments. There will be obsessive deconstructions and over-interpretations of each frame and intake of breath. But, at the end of the day, this is still a Star Wars film in its very bones, muscle, and sinew. Whatever controversy Abrams might have brewed up with his artistic choices, he still captures magnificently the soul of this series: that unwavering hope that the powerless can win, despite the odds.
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Star Wars films – ranked worst to best 6. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) There’s a lot to wrap up in the concluding chapter of the original trilogy. The result is a few odd turns for the sake of plot convenience. What does one do with a character as enigmatic as Boba Fett? Why, have him topple into the Sarlacc pit within the first 20 minutes! How does one put to rest the love triangle hinted at in A New Hope? Why, insert a revelation that Luke and Leia are, in fact, brother and sister! Even the second Death Star oddly feels sillier than The Force Awakens and its third attempt at a giant ball in space, since The First Order at least had the excuse that their obsessive admiration of the Empire may have clouded their judgement. That said, there’s still plenty of charm to be found here and the Ewoks aren’t all that bad. Before you dismiss them as irritating merchandise opportunities, it’s worth remembering that they have absolutely no qualms about killing and eating people.
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Star Wars films – ranked worst to best 5. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) If Rogue One is any indication of Disney’s plans for the franchise and its future, then there’s no cause for concern. The first of the “A Star Wars Story” spin-offs, it shifts into gear with ease, soothing audiences by not straying too far from the familiar timeline while introducing a full set of new characters and a grittier tone. Stylistically, it feels more like a Vietnam War movie and is proof of how far a gifted director like Gareth Edwards can stray from the franchise’s usual formula and still feel grounded in the same world. Plus, you have to admire the guts it takes to deliver an ending like that…
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Star Wars films – ranked worst to best 4. Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) Disney made a very smart move with The Force Awakens. As the first Star Wars film of a new generation, it not only had to make its own mark, but feel familiar enough that it welcomed fans back with open arms. The balance is hit perfectly here. That’s largely due to the film’s new trio of central heroes, who radiate the same kind of warmth, bravery, and spirit that carved a special place in people’s hearts when they were first introduced to the franchise’s original stars. Daisy Ridley’s Rey, John Boyega’s Finn, and Oscar Isaac’s Poe honour Star Wars's past while striding into its unknown future. It also helps that the film has landed on a villain like Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), whose drive and complexity may see him surpass even Darth Vader by the end of his story in Episode IX.
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Star Wars films – ranked worst to best 3. Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017) Any divisiveness the film attracted certainly proved one thing: here’s a Star Wars film that actually took a creative risk. And what a bold, ambitious, and ultimately beautiful risk that was. Director Rian Johnson took the cinematic legacy presented before him and added a new richness to its textures. He allowed heroism to go beyond the clean divide between good and evil; through Luke and Rey, we were taught not to be ashamed of our doubts but to grow stronger because of them. We were taught not to use destiny as a crutch, but to know when to forge our own paths. The Last Jedi is a soulful film told through some of the most striking cinematography of the entire franchise.
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Star Wars films – ranked worst to best 2. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) It’s the place where it all began. The Star Wars franchise has only become the success it is today because of how purely revolutionary the first instalment was as a piece of Hollywood filmmaking. It is, to this day, one of the most successful examples of the modern epic, endlessly imitated but so rarely with the same heart or ambition. George Lucas tapped into one of the most timeless qualities of storytelling: its ability to let us see and understand our own world through the eyes of another. Star Wars has become so iconic because, even on such a grand scale, we know and relate to the emotions at hand – fear, love, or a desire to do what’s right.
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Star Wars films – ranked worst to best 1. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) The Empire Strikes Back is remarkable in its ability to pursue real emotional stakes. Its closing moments, the final note to its symphony of sacrifice and tragedy, leaves us with the single, delicate emotion that is hope, blooming in the darkness as our heroes set out to save Han and restore the Rebel Alliance. What A New Hope built up by making us fall in love with these characters, The Empire Strikes Back recouped in sharing with us their pain and their fears. Darth Vader’s reveal that he’s Luke’s father has, of course, found its place in history, but there’s an equal sense of emotional resonance in the moment Leia and Han depart, moments before he’s trapped in carbonite. When Leia’s “I love you” is returned by Han’s “I know” – a line written by Harrison Ford himself – we’re reminded of how magical Star Wars’s sense of storytelling can be, condensing everything that these two characters feel for each other into five simple words.
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He added, “I want to be shocked, I want to be surprised, I want to be thrown off-guard, I want to have things recontextualised, I want to be challenged as a fan when I sit down in the theatre.”
The first reviews for The Rise of Skywalker have tended to criticise what has been interpreted as a course-correction to many of Johnson’s creative choices.
These include a greater emphasis on action, and a greatly reduced role for actor Kelly Marie Tran , whose character Rose was at the centre of an online hate campaign.
“Many of the decisions in this film frustrate me,” critic Clarisse Loughrey wrote in her review for The Independent . “It hangs several of its predecessor’s core philosophies out to dry and, most unforgivable of all, it sidelines Rose Tico in a way that seems pointedly cruel considering how viciously treated the actor was in certain corners of the web.”
“In many respects, it feels like a betrayal of what came before,” she added.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
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