I don’t normally make posts like this on here, but I have a lot to say about this short interview with Rian Johnson on TLJ in hindsight. The author of this article is already delusional starting off with the idea that the “fan’s weren’t prepared” for TLJ when it came to theaters as if the film is some misunderstood masterpiece that the fans cannot comprehend (meanwhile the PT will always be regarded as “controversial” or “poorly executed” by the mainstream media). The audacity of the article to immediately talk down to anyone that disagrees is annoying and pedantic. The article also says how TLJ “expanded” on the plot threads of TFA. Oh you mean how we never got an answer for why Maz had Anakin’s lightsaber or how it got there? Or who were the Knights of Ren and where were they? How did the First Order take over the New Republic in a matter of hours (not days, not months, not years, literal hours)? Who was Snoke? Where did he come from? Was he a Sith Lord? Where was he during the PT/OT? What was even Snoke’s overall goal in the first place? When & how did Kylo Ben turn to the Dark side? Why does Threepio have a red arm that magically goes away? All of these questions and more are never addressed in the ST at all and yet TLJ is being lauded for it’s addition to it, like did this author even watch the same film?

Then they move onto RJ’s bit about mythology and how Luke needs to believe in his own myth again. Here’s the thing though, Why would Luke believe in his own myth in the first place!? Throughout this he entire OT Luke is always bailed out by his friends and family. Luke makes the torpedo shot on the Death Star because of Han knocking out Vader, Luke escapes Bespin because of Leia and Lando, and Luke is saved by Vader, returning as Anakin, to destroy the Emperor. So why would Luke be so egotistical to so deeply believe in his own hype that the mere contradiction of Ben’s turn to the Dark side (after attempting to stab him in his sleep, of course) is enough to make him forsake everything (his friends, family, and the entire galaxy) and become a depressed suicidal hermit for the next decade when he didn’t accomplish any of those things by himself. The legend of Luke Skywalker may be the mistake of an outsider, but why would Luke give into that legend when he knows the truth behind it? Unless Rian Johnson believes that Luke is an absolute narcissist, which given his apparent lack of understanding of SW in general is not surprising in the slightest. And before anyone thinks that the “don’t believe in your own hype/myth” lesson hasn’t been done before in SW, the entire Jedi Order in the PT was overconfident in their own legend and was one of the primary reasons for their demise. The Jedi Order was so overly confident in its moral upstanding that they couldn’t see the knife that was going into their back, that is one of the main points that the entire PT is making and Luke for some reason just falls into the exact same trap despite supposedly having this knowledge. 

The article also doesn’t address why every other character gets unceremoniously sidelined in favor for Luke, Rey, and Kylo. How Finn and Poe get next to no character development over the 2 1/2 hour runtime, only to spout out lessons that have already been done before in SW and much better under George Lucas, who doesn’t talk to his audience like they are a bunch of simpletons. But that just shows how much Rian Johnson really cares about SW, he just wanted to make his “mark” on the franchise and show off his “hot take” on Luke Skywalker and walk away, character and plot consistency be damned. After all of this I don’t think Luke Skywalker is the one in need of an ego check, but hey the mainstream media will always be there to stroke Rian Johnson’s ego whenever he asks for it. I could go on, but this has turned into a long enough rant already. 

What do you guys think of this interview? Do you agree or have something else to add? Lemme know in the comments and May the Force be with you, always.