Collider take a look at the recent SXSW festival, where Rian Johnson spoke with Fandango’s Erik Davis and made clear that the new trilogy he is working on won’t be influenced by the varying reactions to The Last Jedi.
Fan reaction to Star Wars: The Last Jedi was loud, that’s for sure. With a worldwide gross of $1.3 billion, the Force Awakens sequel was seen by a lot of people, but if you went on social media there was a heated divide between some fans—those who loved writer/director Rian Johnson’s bold new direction for the franchise, and those who hated it. Regardless of how you feel about the film, Johnson isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy had such a positive experience with the filmmaker on The Last Jedi that she signed him to create a brand new Star Wars trilogy with new characters and a new setting, and he’s hard at work crafting that three-film arc right now.
And that negative fan reaction – and presumably the positive, if his logic holds true – won’t be an influence on the new trilogy.
“No, not really. I feel like every Star Wars thing that ever gets made has a big, loud response because Star Wars fans are passionate and that’s what makes them awesome. But no, and I don’t think it’s possible—if you’re really telling a story you care about and having it come from your heart, it’s just not possible to be intellectually processing what everyone else wants. Nor would it be a good thing, a healthy thing. I don’t think that’s a good way to tell a story.”
