It’s no secret that fans were divided on Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Some fans loved it, others claimed it ruined their childhood. Wherever you personally stand on the film still doesn’t change the fact that there is a divide between fans – and filmmaker Kevin Smith seems to think he has figured out why that is.
On his Fat Man on Batman podcast, Smith said:
“I think at the end of the day audience expectation plays into that. Like when, you know, you’re like ‘alright the next movie is going to be all about Luke and I’ve seen Luke in the trailer and I know exactly who Luke Skywalker is and now he looks like Obi-Wan so he’s going to be like this version of Obi-Wan,’ and then they give you a version of Luke that even Mark Hamill reportedly was like ‘I don’t know, is this really supposed to be Luke Skywalker? He’s not the one I remember.'”
He continued:
“Some people, it hit them the wrong way in a big way. I’ve seen, it’s not just people going like, ‘oh, I didn’t like it,’ when they don’t like it. It’s vitriolic, as if somebody f–cked up their childhood.”
Smith concluded:
“With Force Awakens you get the nostalgia rush, like, maybe we weren’t as judgy about that movie as people are being about Last Jedi because like we’re going to give you, we’re going to make three Star Wars movies, here’s the first one and there ain’t a hint of Jar Jar in it, enjoy and so the audience is ‘oh god it’s f–cking back’ and now that they’ve had that moment the next one had a tall order because you lose the joy of surprise and like your childhood is back and sh-t and now you just have to tell a real story.”
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is currently playing in theaters everywhere.
What did you think of Star Wars: The Last Jedi? Be sure to tell us your thoughts in the comments!