Despite having directed his own much derided entry into the film franchise, “The Last Jedi” director Rian Johnson told Rolling Stone he once had a “ruthless” hate for the “Star Wars” prequels released between 1999 and 2005.
“I was in college when the prequels came out,” he explained. “My friends and I were Prequel Hate Central. Everyone was ruthless at the time.”
Johnson also pointed out that feelings about the prequels have changed over the past 20 years. “Now the prequels are embraced,” he continued. “I’m not saying that as a facile, ‘Oh, things will flip around in 20 years, you’ll see!’ It’s more that this push and pull, and this hatred to stuff that seems new, this is all part of being a ‘Star Wars’ fan. Culture-war garbage aside, I think that essential part of it is a healthy part.”
Johnson’s own entry into the “Star Wars” universe was not universally beloved upon release (the movie still has the lowest fan score on Rotten Tomatoes).
Johnson said the reactions were “complicated” at the time of the movie’s release. “It never feels good to have anybody coming after you on the internet, and especially coming after you saying things that I think I very much do not agree with about a thing I made and put a lot of heart and soul into.”
He added that being a “Star Wars” fan helped him get through the experience of his own film being attacked. “At the same time, having grown up a Star Wars fan ultimately let me contextualize it and feel at peace with it in many different ways,” Johnson said. “Just remembering, going back on one level to arguing on the playground about ‘Star Wars’ as a kid.”
Read the interview with Rian Johnson at Rolling Stone.
