Rian Johnson Responds to J.J. Abrams' Praise of THE LAST JEDI and Wants THE RISE OF SKYWALKER to Surprise Him

Movie Star Wars Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Star Wars: The Last Jedi Rian Johnson J.J. Abrams about 4 years agoby Joey Paur

This weekend, Rian Johnson’s whodunnit murder mystery Knives Out hit theaters and was a big success. Not only did it have a great box office weekend, but the movie was freakin’ great! I loved it! Anyway, while making the press rounds for the film, as you might expect, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has been brought up with him as a topic of discussion.

Even though Johnson is currently developing a new Star Wars trilogy for Lucasfilm, he knows nothing about the story for The Rise of Skywalker. He made a choice not to get any details so that he can have a pure fan viewing experience to give him that feeling of being a kid again. While talking to CinemaBlend, he said:

“I want to sit down like a Star Wars fan and just get my popcorn and just be 10-years-old again and see this whole thing brought home in a beautiful way that surprises me…it’s Star Wars. It takes you there. It transports you. The instant that John Williams score comes up, the instant you’re back in that world and hear those lightsaber sounds, it’s just [snaps] – you’re back to being ten.”

I can totally relate to that feeling! That’s one of the reasons why I love the Star Wars franchise so much. It makes me feel like a kid again! I enjoy that feeling every week when a new episode of The Mandalorian comes out.

During the interview, J.J. Abrams’ praise of The Last Jedi was brought up where Abrams said that Rian’s choices with The Last Jedi helped inspired him and strengthen how he handled The Rise of Skywalker. In response to that Johnson said:

“That was so incredibly kind of J.J. to say that. I don’t think J.J. needs any inspiration from me. I think he’s an incredible storyteller who I knew from the instant that I knew that he was doing [Episode] IX that he was going to figure out a way that was going to both surprise all of us and satisfy us deeply at the end of the saga.”

Well, let’s hope that he’s right and that Abrams gives us a conclusion to the Skywalker Saga with deep satisfaction.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker blasts into theaters on December 20, 2019.

Joey Paur Co-Founder / Editor of GeekTyrant.com, and if you haven't noticed I write… a lot. Movies are my passion and I live and breathe all things geek. This site is part of my life's work, it's a part of me. I love what I do, and I enjoy sharing everything I can with you when it comes to movies and geekery. In my spare time I travel to the netherworlds to battle demons. @JoeyPaur | [email protected]