Star Wars: The Last Jedi's Director Responds to Ex-Lucasfilm President's Comments, Stating "Lol Zero Spooked, Sorry"

The director of the incredibly divisive Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi has responded to comments made by the now ex-president of Lucasfilm that he won’t be returning to the franchise because he was “spooked” by online negativity to his film.

Looking back, the fan response to the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi feels somewhat foretelling. Critics loved it, but the fanbase was heavily divided, with many criticising it for its negative portrayal of Luke Skywalker.

These days, Star Wars fans seem exasperated with Disney’s handling of the franchise. That’s probably why Deadline’s “Exit Interview” with Kathleen Kennedy, who officially stepped down as president of Lucasfilm on Thursday, has been making its way through every publication this week.

Kennedy was asked if there was any chance that The Last Jedi’s director, Rian Johnson, might return to the franchise in the near future.

Official alternate poster for Star Wars The Last Jedi, Disney

“Once he made the Netflix deal and went off to start doing the Knives Out films, that has occupied a huge amount of his time… And then I do believe he got spooked by the online negativity,” Kennedy replied.

“I think Rian made one of the best Star Wars movies. He’s a brilliant filmmaker and he got spooked. This is the rough part. When people come into this space, I have every filmmaker and actors say to me, “What’s going to happen?” They’re a little scared.”

Personally, Johnson never struck me as the type of director who would be “spooked” by negative feedback. In fact, he outright stated in an interview with Empire back in 2022 that he’s “even more proud of [The Last Jedi] five years on.”

Either way, it seems that he certainly hasn’t been spooked by Kennedy’s comment. As spotted by IGN earlier today, Rian Johnson replied to their Tweet detailing Kennedy’s interview by simply stating “lol zero spooked, sorry.”

Does this mean that Johnson might return to direct another Star Wars film down the line? I doubt it.

I believe him when he says that he doesn’t particularly care about the backlash to The Last Jedi, but I also think that Disney probably wouldn’t want to risk the box office numbers by attaching him to a new Star Wars project.

Also, Johnson is clearly enjoying working for Netflix right now. I just don’t see him attaching himself to any big franchise in the near future, as he seems to prefer working on his own original projects these days.