Rian Johnson shuts down fan backlash about Luke Skywalker's big trick
2025-04-27 04:59:37
Consider yourself warned if you haven't seenThe Last Jediyet: there are spoilers within.
Cranky Star Wars fans, Rian Johnson has had enough of your guff.
The director of The Last Jeditook to Twitter on Friday to clap back at fans who are furious at the trick Luke Skywalker pulls on Kylo Ren in the movie's climactic fight scene on the planet Crait.
SEE ALSO: 'The Last Jedi' destroyed me and I am not OK: How to process the big surpriseDuring that battle, Kylo confronts what turns out to be a Force projection of Luke. The real deal is actually back on Ahch-To. A younger-looking Luke (with his old-school blue lightsaber -- a major clue!) puts Kylo through the emotional ringer before blowing his mind by peacing out into thin air.
That moment didn't sit well with some fans -- shocking, we know. A common complaint: that that there was no foreshadowing. We should have been told Force projection was a thing the Jedi could do. Even though Kylo and Rey had basically been doing it to each other throughout the movie. But never mind that! Rian Johnson killed Star Wars!
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Johnson responded to the critics with what may be one of the great Twitter threads of all time. Without typing a word, he pointed out that the power Luke used was clearly flagged in a 2011 book called The Jedi Path. (via Twitter Moments).
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The haters didn't give up that easily, however. Some others pointed out to Johnson that The Jedi Pathwas one of the books wiped out of canon after Disney purchased Lucasfilm and thus shouldn't be admissible as evidence, or something.
Never mind that Lucasfilm made it clear at the time they'd reuse parts of the old book canon whenever it made sense for the story: "Creators of new Star Wars entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe," the company wrote.
Johnson also reminded his critics of the Force connection between Luke and Leia at the end of The Empire Strikes Back-- the point being another (less controversial) aspect of the Force was revealed with zero foreshadowing.
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Johnson didn't have to reach back this far -- but as supportive fans pointed out, there's even a similar kind of resolution at the end of the original Star Wars.
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At the end of the day, however, there's not much you can say to The Last Jedihaters. If you can't accept Force Hologram Luke but are totally cool with Force ghosts, Force lightning and physically impossible laser swords, evidence and logic may not bring you around.
