Rian Johnson Opens Up About His Complex Love-Hate Relationship With Star Wars
If you’ve been keeping tabs on the Star Wars saga — both on screen and off — you know it’s a universe that stirs up some seriously passionate opinions. And no one understands that better than Rian Johnson, the filmmaker behind the divisive yet acclaimed The Last Jedi. In a recent Rolling Stone interview, Johnson peeled back the curtain on his evolving feelings about the Star Wars franchise, his own movie’s mixed reception, and even the prequel trilogy he once openly criticized.
“Everyone was ruthless at the time.”
Johnson’s candidness about the prequels caught my attention right away. Remember when The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith hit theaters between 1999 and 2005? Yeah, those movies were the talk of every playground and college dorm — but not always in a good way.
“I was in college when the prequels came out,” Johnson recalled. “My friends and I were Prequel Hate Central. Everyone was ruthless at the time.” It’s funny to think about now, given how the perception of those movies has softened considerably over the years.
That shift, Johnson suggests, says a lot about Star Wars fans themselves. “Now the prequels are embraced,” he said. “I’m not just saying, ‘Oh, in 20 years people will love everything.’ It’s more that this push and pull — the hatred toward stuff that seems new — is part of being a Star Wars fan. Culture wars aside, I think that’s a healthy part of it.”
Wrestling with the backlash to The Last Jedi
Of course, Johnson isn’t just reflecting on past fandom disputes. He was front and center in one of the franchise’s most intense fan reactions with his 2017 film The Last Jedi. That movie broke conventions, challenged expectations, and left some fans divided — to say the least.
“In the moment, it’s a complicated chain of reactions to it,” Johnson said. “It never feels good to have anybody coming after you on the internet, especially saying things I very much do not agree with about something I made and put a lot of heart and soul into.”
But as a lifelong Star Wars fan himself, Johnson has developed some perspective on the noise. “Having grown up a Star Wars fan, ultimately it let me contextualize it and feel at peace with it,” he shared. “I think back to arguing on the playground as a kid about Star Wars. The fandom has always been passionate — that’s nothing new.”
Admiring George Lucas' visionary work
What’s fascinating is how Johnson’s view of George Lucas’ prequels has changed over time. Far from the dismissive stance of his college days, he now openly praises the trilogy for both its storytelling and technical innovations.
In a 2020 social media post, Johnson called the prequels “a gorgeous seven-hour-long movie for children about how entitlement and fear of loss turns good people into fascists.” He didn’t stop there — he lauded Lucas for pioneering nearly every major technical advancement in modern filmmaking over the last 30 years. That’s some serious respect for a set of movies once ridiculed for awkward dialogue and CGI overload.
The rise and fall of The Rise of Skywalker
The conversation also turned to the final chapter of the Skywalker saga, J.J. Abrams’ The Rise of Skywalker. Many fans saw it as an attempt to undo or retract some of Johnson’s bold storytelling choices in The Last Jedi. But Johnson’s take is refreshingly measured.
“When I saw the movie, I had a great time watching it,” he said. “In my perspective, J.J. did the same thing with the third film that I did with the second — not digging up what came before and undoing it, but telling the story in the way that felt most compelling moving forward.”
Johnson points out that Star Wars storytelling isn’t about preserving one fixed narrative but about “recontextualizing it and evolving and changing as the story moves forward.”
He added, “I didn’t feel resentful. These are movies made by my friends, with my friends in them. When I sit down to watch a Star Wars movie, it’s all stuff I love. I’m not here to deliver hard-hitting critiques — YouTube has plenty of those.”
Why this all matters to Star Wars fans (and why it should to you)
If you take away one thing from Johnson’s reflections, it’s that Star Wars is far more than just a series of movies — it’s a living, breathing cultural phenomenon that evolves with its fans. The passionate debates, the love and the hate, the shifts in opinion over decades — they’re all part of what keeps this universe so fascinating.
Here are a few takeaways worth thinking about:
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The fandom’s evolution mirrors the films themselves. Just as Star Wars characters grow and change, so do the fans' perspectives. What felt like a betrayal in one era might be cherished in the next.
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Criticism and passion go hand in hand. Johnson reminds us that harsh reactions aren’t just trolls online — they’re often a sign of how deeply people care.
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Art is meant to challenge and evolve. The back-and-forth between directors like Lucas, Johnson, and Abrams reflects a bigger truth about storytelling — sometimes you build on what came before, sometimes you push in new directions.
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Respect for the craft is key. Despite disagreements, Johnson openly respects Lucas’ visionary filmmaking and the contributions of his peers, reminding us to appreciate the artistry beyond fan debates.
The personal side of being a Star Wars storyteller
It’s clear from Johnson’s tone that his connection to Star Wars is personal. It’s not just a job or a franchise for him — it’s a lifelong passion, full of nostalgia, hard work, and love. And that makes the backlash sting even more.
He shares a very human side of being a director under the microscope: “I put a lot of heart and soul into it. To see people disagree with it — that’s tough. But I also remember being a kid arguing about Star Wars, so I get it.”
Final thoughts
Rian Johnson’s reflections give us a fascinating peek behind the scenes of one of the most beloved and contentious franchises in pop culture history. His journey from “prequel hater” to admirer, from the target of online vitriol to someone at peace with the debates, mirrors the way many of us relate to Star Wars itself.
In a way, his words remind us that the Star Wars story isn’t just what’s on screen — it’s the conversations, disagreements, and evolving love from fans and creators alike. And that, more than anything, might be the real magic of the galaxy far, far away.
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