Summary
Few fanbases love to rave and rant online as much as those who love theStar Warsfranchise. One particular man has been the target of their ire over the past decade, and now he’s back in the news again for his original feelings on the 2000s prequel trilogy.
Star Warsis, well, the biggest multimedia franchise of the past fifty years. If 1975’sJawsis the prototypethat altered the trajectory of Hollywood filmmaking, 1977’sStar Warsis the blockbuster that warped everything to lightspeed. Coming out of nowhere to become a genuine phenomenon that was the highest-grossing film in history at the time of release, George Lucas’Star Warsturned Tinseltown into a franchise-hunting assembly line always looking for the next hit that will spawn endless sequels and sell heaps of merchandise.Star Warsspawned numerous film trilogies, television shows, spin-off films, comic books, video games, novels, audio plays, theme park rides, and so much more. As one would imagine, the franchise’s popularity has created legions of fans who live and breathe all thingsStar Wars. There are numerous people out there whose entire identities are wrapped up in a galaxy far, far away.Star Warsis, simply put, life and death stuff for them. AndThe Last Jedidirector Rian Johnson hasfound a way to piss off a whole lot of these fans.
During an interview recently published inRolling Stone, famed director Rian Johnson got to talking about his controversialStar WarsfilmThe Last Jedi. Famously divisive online,The Last Jedihas been a never-ending talking point for the fandom since being released in 2017. While talking aboutStar Wars, Johnson used his initial hatred for the prequel trilogy to putThe Last Jediinto perspective.“I was in college when the prequels came out,“he said.“My friends and I were Prequel Hate Central. Everyone was ruthless at the time. Now the prequels are embraced. 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 aStar Warsfan. Culture-war garbage aside, I think that essential part of it is a healthy part.”
Rian Johnson Believes TheStar WarsFandom Could Grow To LoveThe Last JediSomewhere Down The Line
They’ll Never Get Used To Green Milk, Though
The thing is, Johnson’s not wrong. The prequel trilogy wasreviled byStar Warsfans for years, and it was only after Disney acquired Lucasfilm and theStar Warsfranchise that things began to turn around for the 2000s films. Sure,The Clone Warswent a long way to rehabilitate the rushed storytelling of the prequel trilogy thanks to years of solid animated action, but a lot of fans have never even watched that series. Why did so many people doa full 180-degree turn on the prequels?
For some, nostalgia is a hell of a drug. For others, the routes thatStar Warstook under the House of Mouse made the prequels look better in retrospect. It’s hard to know for sure, but the prequels were a complete punching bag for years and now they’re not. The same could happen forThe Last Jediat some point in the future, as the prequels aren’t the only 2000s films to get reappraised by the internet over the years. Somehow,Spider-Man 3and the originalFantastic Fourfilms have become underrated by certain subsects of film fans since their release.Speed Racerhas gone from “box office disaster” to “underappreciated gem.”
The Last Jedicould be the nextStar Warsfilm to be reappraised by fans, but it won’t be happening any time soon.
