The Last Jedi Director Rian Johnson Reveals Whether Negative Reactions Killed His Star Wars Trilogy

It ain't easy making a "Star Wars" movie. You can take the "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain" route, where J.J. Abrams' almost universally-adored "The Force Awakens" was completely undone when he returned for the poorly-received "The Rise of Skywalker." There's the "At least you tried" consolation prize for filmmakers on troubled productions, including Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Josh Trank, and Colin Trevorrow. And who could forget the "Trapped in purgatory" option reserved for Taika Waititi, James Mangold, and others who supposedly have projects in development.

Somewhere in the middle of all this is Rian Johnson, who delivered the critically-acclaimed (though divisive) "The Last Jedi." The original plan was for Johnson to debut "Episode VIII," help craft the story for the Skywalker Saga-ending "Episode IX," and work on an original trilogy of "Star Wars" films. Obviously, things unfolded quite differently, and the generally-accepted narrative pointed the blame squarely at the vitriolic "Last Jedi" reactions amplified online.

Here to dispute that version of events, however, is Johnson himself. While promoting his own franchise trilogy-capper "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery" at the Newport Beach Film Festival in California (via a fan account post on X), the writer/director denied the fan response killed his "Star Wars" trilogy:

"No, not at all. In fact, it's the reason that I wanted to. My overall experience with putting ['The Last Jedi'] out, and what you're talking about with fan feedback — I mean, first of all, I'm a lifelong 'Star Wars' fan. So, I know the deal. I know that 'Star Wars' fans are passionate about this stuff. We love the stuff we love, we hate the stuff we hate, and we fight about it. And that's been happening since the original trilogy."

Rian Johnson certainly isn't wrong about the, er, passion of "Star Wars" fans over the decades. Before the original movies became regarded as one of the seminal franchises in blockbuster history, audiences were initially pretty mixed on now-beloved entries like "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi." And while younger generations led the reclamation of the prequels, it wasn't too long ago that George Lucas' trilogy was seen as little more than a pop-culture punchline. Time will likely end up treating the sequels in a similar fashion, believe it or not, but that intrinsic sense of ownership is something Johnson personally lived through. He explained that:

"The notion that 'Star Wars' has been this kind of Shangri-La, united fandom, and that anything could then split that apart — the reality is 'Star Wars' has always been something that has meant different things to different people. And I think that's part of the fun and the passion of it as fans, is arguing about it respectfully."

Writer/Director @rianjohnson Discusses #StarWars: #TheLastJedi At The Newport Beach Film Festival 🎬 pic.twitter.com/MvJX46xpFl

— Star Wars Culture (@SWCultureLive) November 5, 2025

Johnson went on to mention how he's encountered fans with "deep connections" to both "The Last Jedi" and "Star Wars" as a whole in the years since the 2017 movie released. "And so it's been the most positive experience I've ever had with anything I've made, in terms of interacting with people who've seen it. I came out at the other end of it loving 'Star Wars' fandom more than I did even going into it," he added. It's fairly easy to take the ever-positive filmmaker at his word, especially as he's had nothing but good things to say about his visit to the "Star Wars" sandbox. Whether he ever actually makes that trilogy, however, remains to be seen.