If you’ve seen Star Wars: The Last Jedi, you likely have a strong opinion on it at this point. There are those who love the film (myself included), as it has a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and an "A" CinemaScore grade. There are also who don’t feel the same way and have some critiques and flaws with The Last Jedi, as it has a 56% Rotten Tomatoes user grade with 100,000 ratings.
While Star Wars is one of the biggest franchises in the entire world right now, it’s safe to say that no one really thought The Last Jedi was going to be this polarizing of a film.
Disney, however, has recently weighed in on some the backlash and criticism the film has been getting. Disney president of theatrical distribution Dave Hollis told Deadline, "Rian Johnson, the cast, and the Lucasfilm team have delivered an experience that is totally Star Wars yet at the same time fresh, unexpected and new. This makes this a Star Wars film like audiences have never seen — it’s got people talking, puzzling over its mysteries, and it’s a lot to take in, and we see that as all positive, that should help set the film up for great word-of-mouth and repeating viewings as we enter the lucrative holiday period."
The comments are based on the fact that Reddit users and others on the internet are saying The Last Jedi takes too far of a radical step outside anything the Star Wars films have ever done. This is after J.J. Abrams received criticism for The Force Awakens being too similar to the original Star Wars, proving it really is impossible to please everybody.
However, The Last Jedi killed it at the box office this weekend — raking in $220 million domestically.
President of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy has not commented on the backlash to The Last Jedi. Rian Johnson, meanwhile, has still been given a Star Wars trilogy independent of the saga films to create. Let’s just hope they don’t take it away from him (looking at you, Lord and Miller + Han Solo spinoff / Colin Trevorrow + Episode IX).