The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson is tired of the accusations that he did not understand the assignment. He recently spoke with GQ about his 2017 film, which has been criticized by some fans who feel its jokes don’t fit the tone of the Star Wars franchise. “Everything in the movie, I can trace back to deeply, in a deep way, what Star Wars is for me,†Johnson said. “And I know that everyone has a different take. I know there are Star Wars fans who somehow think that Star Wars was a serious thing, like the Batman movies or something.â€
The Glass Onion director specifically defended a contentious comedic moment from The Last Jedi in which Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) pretends he can’t hear General Hux (Domnhall Glesson). “Anyone who thinks that slightly goofy humor does not have a place in the Star Wars universe, I don’t know if they’ve seen Return of the Jedi,†Johnson said, recalling a scene in which Han Solo tried to blow out a torch in a cartoonish way. He also cited the first Star Wars movie, pointing to a moment where Chewbacca frightened an imperial droid into making frightened squeaks. “The slightly self-aware element of gleeful humor is something that is part and parcel to Star Wars,†Johnson concluded. “It’s not the whole thing, and we get very serious in the movie as well. I think that kind of brazen balance is also something that’s part of Star Wars.†Oh, so is that what Obi-Wan meant when he said to bring balance to the Force?