The reviews for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” are here (spoiler free!) and the consensus seems to be that Rian Johnson has hit a homerun. The middle chapters of any series are never easy, but the filmmaker has managed to make a movie that stands well on its own, while also leaving a clear path for the next instalment. There are already some comparisons being made between “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back,” however, Johnson cautions against reading too much into that.
Speaking with French outlet Numerama (via Slashfilm), the director admits that there are broad similarities, but that’s where it ends between the two pictures. “Look, we’re starting this movie with our protagonist going off to a deserted island to meet a Jedi master, just like Luke and Yoda. And our characters are split up, some are back with the Resistance, some are off, and then you have a kind of training dynamic seemingly set up,” he said.
“There are big structural things that are going to be very similar to ‘The Empire Strikes Back.’ But I don’t think, after watching the movie, many people will have the feeling of a copy of ‘The Empire Strikes Back.’ I don’t see how they could, but maybe they will. I don’t know, you never know!” Johnson added.
Moreover, from a creative standpoint, the man behind ‘The Last Jedi’ believes that merely trying to emulate ‘Empire’ would be a dead end…but so would trying to sidestep it entirely too.
“I think that it would be a mistake to try to copy ‘The Empire Strikes Back,’ but that it would be just as much as mistake to make creatives decisions based on saying ‘We’re going to be nothing like The Empire Strikes Back’! These two approaches lead, in my opinion, to two forced versions, which have the same weaknesses,” he explained. “For me, I try just to take a starting point of what I knew about these characters, and say: ‘Where do I want them to go? How did they get there? What are the hard things I’m going to throw at them?’ ”
Well, Johnson certainly answered that latter question in his new film which should surprise any expectations you might have. See you at the cinemas on Friday.