Rian Johnson Wanted The Last Jedi to Have ‘Hell of an Ending’
“This whole poisonous idea of creation [IP] it has completely penetrated the foundation of the narrative. Everyone’s just thinking, ‘How do we keep milking it?’
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi”
The Everett Collection
Since The Last Jedi came out in 2017, director Rian Johnson has defended the film from many Star Wars fans who disagreed with how the middle part of the sequel trilogy played with the franchise’s conventions. In a recent interview with The Atlantic, Johnson spoke about the film’s divisive ending, saying he wanted to give it an air of finality to combat the “poisonous idea” of intellectual property that has influenced the film’s narrative.
“Look, as far as the Star Wars movie that I did, I tried to give it a great ending,” Johnson told the Atlantic. “I love endings so much that even doing the middle chapter of the trilogy, I tried to end it. A good ending that recontextualizes everything that came before it and makes it a beautiful object unto itself – that’s what makes a movie a movie. It feels like there is less and less of it. This whole poisonous idea of creation [intellectual property] it has completely penetrated the foundation of the narrative. Everyone’s just thinking, ‘How do we keep milking it?’ I like an ending where you burn your Viking boat at sea.”
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This isn’t the first time Johnson has reviewed The Last Jedi in print. In a career video interview with GQ, the “Glass Onion” director addressed criticism of the film’s comedy, which some fans criticized as too broad.
“Anyone who thinks slightly silly humor has no place in the Star Wars universe doesn’t know if they’ve seen Return of The Jedi,” Johnson said. “The subliminal element of cheerful humor is something that is integral to ‘Star Wars.’ That’s not all, and we’re very serious too. And I think that kind of cheeky balance of those two things is also something that’s part of Star Wars.
Although The Last Jedi has remained a controversial entry in the divisive Star Wars franchise, Johnson has stood by the film, saying he’s “even more proud” of it five years later in a recent interview with Empire Magazine. The director is currently still attached to helm a new trilogy of Star Wars films, though he recently said it “wouldn’t be the end of the world” if the project didn’t get done.
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