Rian Johnson Was Not Aware Of Kylo Ren's Fate After 'The Last Jedi'

One of the most heavily criticized parts of the sequel trilogy is the apparent lack of a cohesive, overarching story thread. From the onset of the films, it became apparent that Lucasfilm and Disney were content to allow the individual film directors to steer the trilogy to their own directions. Coming form a company that includes a Story Group and has produced one of the most intertwined and continuous universes in the MCU, this seems like a poor choice. While the sequel films are visually stunning, both in effects and cinematography, and are undeniably fun and entertaining, there are those who have expressed concern with how they fit together as a trilogy and how they impact the Star Wars story at large.

One of the biggest impacts and most criticized story moments is the ending of the Skywalker line with the death of Ben Solo in The Rise of Skywalker. This moment came as a surprise to many, as Leia had already given up her own life to save her son's earlier in the film. After seeing him healed from a devastating lightsaber wound to the abdomen and redeemed from the dark side with the help of his parents, many movie-goers thought that Ben Solo would live to see Episode X (if there ever were one). This was not to be, however, as Ben, like his mother, lays down his life for another. While Rey would go on to take the Skywalker name to honor her masters, many feel it was slightly dark for the granddaughter of Palpatine to effectively end Anakin's lineage and then take their name as her own. It also seems like the choice of Rey being a Palpatine was an unpopular one as well. Especially with the presumed dead Emperor's appearance in Rise feeling rather ham handed.

Recently, many of the questions still lingering among the sequel trilogy fans were put to rest when Sariah Wilson, a USA Today bestselling author, interviewed Rian Johnson about his controversial entry in the galaxy far, far away. The director of The Last Jedi revealed several interesting new tidbits of information about the process that went into making the sequel trilogy. To begin, Johnson confirmed that his vision for Kylo and Rey was a romantic one and that their interactions in his film were meant to pave the way for that budding relationship. This makes even more sense considering that Johnson also revealed that he expected Kylo to survive the trilogy, or at least that he was unaware of plans regarding his fate. When asked if he knew that Ben was going to die while making The Last Jedi, Johnson's response was "No I did not. No."

At this point in the interview, Wilson then expressed to Johnson a sentiment all too common in the fanbase at this point in time, that Ben Solo deserved better. Many felt that his redemption in Rise was a movie too late and that the finale of the saga should have centered around the combined strength of Rey and Ben. Even in the actual execution of his redemption, the change feels rather rushed and only to help of Leia and Han make it believable. This also raises the question: if you only turn back to the light because mom and dad tell you to, are you really redeemed? Perhaps Taika Waititi can explore this concept in his scheduled foray into the Star Wars universe. Rian Johnson went on to say that the transition from movie to movie behind the scenes at Lucasfilm was "a full hand-off," meaning that J.J. Abrams had little to no input on his film, and Johnson in turn was out of the picture when Colin Trevorrow and then Abrams began work on Episode IX.

While the special effects, visuals, and sound mixing of the sequel trilogy are all top notch, as they usually are for Star Wars films, there are several flaws in the bones of the trilogy that keep them from being great. The primary culprit for these shakier parts of the films is the lack of overarching story elements and a cohesive plan from the get-go.

Written By Weston Erickson

Source(s): The Direct

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