The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson has spoken out positively about J.J. Abrams' 2019 follow-up to his Star Wars movie, saying he never felt "resentful" of the sequel despite its story undoing some of the plot points of his own movie.
"When I saw the movie, I had a great time watching it. Again, this is all about point of view. I never approach this as, like, a territory I’m carving out for my thing," Johnson told Rolling Stone in a new interview.
The Rise of Skywalker has had a less-than-favorable legacy in the six years since its release. The third installment in the Star Wars sequel trilogy was review bombed on Rotten Tomatoes and certain decisions, like making Rey the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine, were negatively received by fans.
"In my perspective, J.J. did the same thing with the third that I did with the second, which is not digging it up and undoing – just telling the story the way that was most compelling going forward," Johnson continued.
"That means not just validating what came before, but recontextualizing it and evolving and changing as the story moves forward. I didn’t feel resentful in some way. But you’re talking about a movie made by my friends, with my friends in it. I sit down to watch a movie, and it’s a Star Wars movie. It’s all stuff I love. I’m not the one to come to for a hard-hitting critique. You can go to YouTube for that."
Next up for Johnson is Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, which will see Daniel Craig return as detective Benoit Blanc alongside a new ensemble that includes Glenn Close, Josh O'Connor, Jeremy Renner, and Cailee Spaeny.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery arrives on Netflix on December 12. In the meantime, fill out your watchlist with our picks of the best Netflix movies streaming now.
