Backlash and All, The Last Jedi Left Rian Johnson Loving Star Wars Fans Even More

Rian Johnson just reminded everyone that, despite all the noise around The Last Jedi, his time with Star Wars fans has been weirdly great. Yes, that The Last Jedi — Episode 8, the 2017 one people either adore or tear to shreds at Thanksgiving.

What Johnson actually said

At the Newport Beach Film Festival, someone asked Johnson if the reaction to The Last Jedi — good or bad — is what kept him from going back to Star Wars. He said no. Actually, he said it made him want to come back.

"No, not at all."

He unpacked it from there. Johnson called himself a lifelong Star Wars fan who understands the terrain: fans get passionate, they love what they love, they hate what they hate, and they argue about it. That is not new. He pointed out that back when he was in college and the prequels hit, the debates were ferocious — he joked about living through the prequel wars — so the idea that Star Wars fandom was once a perfectly unified utopia is just not reality. To him, part of the fun is arguing about it like adults.

He also said he has spent years since release talking with people who have deep connections to Star Wars and to The Last Jedi specifically, and those conversations added up to the most positive experience he has had interacting with audiences on anything he has made. He came out the other side liking Star Wars fans even more than he did going in.

If you want to see it straight from the source, the festival posted a clip of Johnson discussing The Last Jedi on X on November 5, 2025, and Gizmodo flagged the exchange.

So is he coming back to Star Wars?

Remember, Johnson was announced for a brand-new Star Wars trilogy even before The Last Jedi hit theaters. That has been sitting on the shelf, and it is not moving anytime soon. Earlier this year, he said he dove headfirst into murder mysteries — think his Knives Out films and the Poker Face series — and that is where his focus is for now. But he does not consider the Star Wars door closed. As he put it: "If I get back in the Star Wars universe someday, I’d be the happiest person."

What is next for him — and for Star Wars

• 2017: Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Episode 8) releases and instantly becomes one of the franchise’s most argued-about entries.
• Pre-release: Johnson is tapped to develop a new Star Wars trilogy. It remains on ice for the moment.
• Earlier this year: He says he went down the murder mystery rabbit hole — focusing on Knives Out and Poker Face — but is open to returning to Star Wars later.
• December 12: Knives Out 3 lands on Netflix.
• May 2026: Star Wars returns to theaters with The Mandalorian and Grogu.

For a movie that still lights up comment sections, it is a twist hearing Johnson say his real-world interactions around The Last Jedi were overwhelmingly positive. If you are planning what to watch between now and the next big-screen Star Wars run, we have a guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and shows to help you load up the queue.