Over the last two years, there has been no shortage of hot takes surrounding Rian Johnson’s film “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” Everyone seems to have an opinion, and most of those feelings tend to be very passionate, one way or another.
But over this time, the fans have been the most vocal, while the folks in Hollywood have been pretty reserved. Well, it appears that we’re entering the final phase of ‘Last Jedi’ critiques, where everyone, including actors and filmmakers involved, as well as outside Hollywood folks, feels the need to express their opinions before ‘Rise of Skywalker’ is released.
Enter director Joseph Kahn. The filmmaker, best known for projects such as “Torque” and “Bodied,” as well as his various music videos and his R-rated “Power Rangers” short film, recently went to social media and discussed his views on ‘The Last Jedi.’ Long story short, he dislikes what Johnson did with Luke Skywalker and openly wonders why the filmmaker didn’t just listen to Mark Hamill when crafting the story.
“Mark Hamill spent 4 decades with Luke Skywalker,” tweeted Kahn. “[George] Lucas created the character but Hamill brought him to life. If anyone knows what Luke would or wouldn’t do, it’s him. Actors are not props, they are storytellers.”
He added, “Why are there nine movies about Skywalkers? Because through Hamill, Skywalker is a symbol for hope. Each episodic branch leads back to him – the beating heart of the story. If you don’t love Luke, you don’t love Star Wars. You just like spaceships.”
While this can all be perceived as more veil insinuations against ‘Last Jedi,’ the filmmaker goes a step further and brings it all together with how he thinks Rian Johnson ruined one of the most important aspects of “Star Wars” — the Force.
“’The Force is for everyone’ is not a philosophy, it’s a marketing gimmick,” he said. “Movies are told subjectively through a protagonist’s journey. We identify with Luke and relate to his underdog status. The Force is a metaphor, not a literal collective video game achievement.”
“When we root for Hamill/Luke we are already rooting for ourselves,” Kahn continued. “After Last Jedi, the Force is impersonal. Just something to dole out to random broom kids. It’s just a meaningless participation trophy that anyone can win. It’s removed of all metaphor or meaning.”
He concluded by saying he suspects what every fan does — retcons are coming to ‘Rise of Skywalker.’ We’ll just have to wait and see how this whole story plays out on December 20, when the Skywalker Saga is finished.
You can click the link below to read the entire thread:
Mark Hamill spent 4 decades with Luke Skywalker. Lucas created the character but Hamill brought him to life. If anyone knows what Luke would or wouldn't do, it's him. Actors are not props, they are storytellers.
— Joseph Kahn (@JosephKahn) December 12, 2019