Star Wars The Last Jedi: Prime Video Facebook Q&A With Rian Johnson

Prime Video held a live Facebook chat yesterday, and fans fired away questions at Rian Johnson, director of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Johnson spoke about the new documentary that is one of the headline features that’s included in the film’s home video release, shared thoughts about working with his childhood heroes, described how he views the entire Star Wars saga, expanded upon the character dynamics between Rey and Kylo, spoke about why Luke turned off the Force, and revealed details about a soundtrack only version of the film. Read on for more!

 

While promoting the new digital, Blu-ray, and 4K UHD release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, director Rian Johnson sat down with Prime Video to answer questions from fans who want to know more details about the blockbuster hit film. Johnson was at the annual South by Southwest film festival where a documentary about his film’s creation (titled “The Director and the Jedi”) was shown. The revealing documentary will be included in The Last Jedi‘s upcoming video release.

 

Here’s a detailed transcribe of some of the highlights from the Q&A video.

 

 

On the process of how the latest documentary for the film came together:

“When we were thinking about doing this (the documentary), we knew we had to have a behind-the-scenes person on the set” Johnson said. “We didn’t want to just have somebody getting just random shots that we would use to put together a big promo at the end. We wanted to really find a filmmaker that was going to capture what it felt like on the set and take you inside the process a little deeper than you sometimes get with behind-the-scenes docs”

 

 

On working with his childhood heroes:

It was terrifying, it was so scary” Johnson said. “Getting to work with them, getting to become friends, getting to have a tight in the trenches relationship with them for these six months was crazy enough” Johnson added. “To have it captured on film and put up so plainly to see, it’s a trip”

 

 

On how he views the Star Wars Saga:

“Each one of these trilogies stands pretty much on its own” Johnson said. (He went on to clarify that he’s speaking only as a fan for this particular view.) “For me the story of the original trilogy is a complete story, and then the story of the prequels is a complete story” Johnson added. “This trilogy is also now going to be its own complete story, it ties back into the original trilogy kind of the same way the prequels tied into to it”

 

 

On Kylo Ren and Rey’s relationship:

“To me it was one of the most fascinating relationships in The Force Awakens and that’s why I was immediately drawn to it” Johnson said. “It’s fascinating because they’re simultaneously opposites in terms of he’s darkside, she’s lightside” Johnson added. “At the same time they’re the same, at the same time they’re alone in the same way”

 

 

On the reason why Luke had to turn off the force:

“The reason for me that Luke had to turn off the Force was because of Leia” Johnson said. “If he had a connection to Leia, if he could see his sister suffering, if he could hear her calls for help, there’s no way he’d be able to do what he thinks he has to do – which is to stay on that island (Ach-to) for the good of the galaxy” Johnson added. “In this way he’s able finally able to do the thing he couldn’t do in Empire, which is the cut off the emotional, isolate himself into what he’s convinced himself is the right thing to do”

 

 

Johnson also said that there will be an upcoming John Willams’ “music only” (or technically, soundtrack only) audio track exclusive to members of Movies Anywhere. You can check out the part where he mentions the “music only” version of the film at the 11:30 mark.

“Basically, we did a mix where there is no dialogue, no sound effects, no backgrounds — nothing but the score just playing at a regular, perfect level,” Johnson said. “you can watch it like a silent film with just John’s score” Johnson added. “If you do this, it’s incredible, you see the nuance that he rides the emotion of the scenes with.”

 

 

Watch the entire Prime Video Q&A below:

 

 

 

Lucasfilm’s ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi‘ hits Digital HD today, and the Blu-ray release follows on March 27th.

 

 

May the force be with you….

 

 

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39 thoughts on “Star Wars The Last Jedi: Prime Video Facebook Q&A With Rian Johnson

  • March 13, 2018 at 4:21 pm
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    It’s March 24th, not May 24th

    • March 13, 2018 at 4:35 pm
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      Corrected, thank you.

  • March 13, 2018 at 5:52 pm
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    “To me it was one of the most fascinating relationships in The Force Awakens and that’s why I was immediately drawn to it” Johnson said. “It’s fascinating because they’re simultaneously opposites in terms of he’s darkside, she’s lightside” Johnson added. “At the same time they’re the same, at the same time they’re alone in the same way”

    In Episode IX, Rey will re-encounter Maz (the mentor/father figure), where they’ll be some kind of revelation that will push Rey closer to Ben. The only characters who truly understood Rey, are Luke, Ben, and to a lessor extent Leia. Only Ben remains in the physical form from those three. The sense of belonging that Rey and Ben are seeking, are each other.

    • March 13, 2018 at 5:59 pm
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      I still want them to be a thing. It doesn’t have to be romantic… whatever. I just loved the bond they had. Luke said… “I can’t save him.” Then he also said. “No one is truly gone.”

      I know he sort of meant Han as he handed the dice over to Leia, but they were talking about Ben at the same time.

      So in my mind Rey is still Ben’s last hope. She can do what Luke can’t because the rift between him and Ben had grown too vast. There may still be something there with Rey/Ben. Though I’ll admit the closing of the Falcon ramp was pretty freaking symbolic.

      • March 13, 2018 at 7:25 pm
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        Mark my words, they are brother and sister.

        • March 13, 2018 at 9:51 pm
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          Marked.

        • March 14, 2018 at 1:52 am
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          Well that’s what I had been hoping for since TFA….

          • March 14, 2018 at 5:39 am
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            I think that’s the problem, many ‘fans’ seem to have been hoping for and predicting how they thought the story would go.
            All the family theories seem based off the reveal from Empire, the expectation this would be more of the same and as such are kind of uncreative and derivative, the same kind of mistakes Lucas made for the Prequels.
            It makes sense to want your heroes to survive and thrive but wanting them to have a specific past feels like the wrong way to get invested in a story.
            Many detractors of Last Jedi seem to have arrived at that point by the assumption of what would happen, their attachment to theories and belief in internet rumours.
            You must unlearn what you have learned

          • March 15, 2018 at 12:34 am
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            Ah, but not if the whole point of the SW Saga films – or the Skywalker Family series specifically – was to mirror similar challenges for successive generations of heroes to see how differently they would cope. That, for me, is the attraction of SW….. And in the case of TLJ, it’s not a stretch to have it that Leia, as was successfully done to her and her brother, could have hidden her own child [Rey] for safety.

        • March 14, 2018 at 2:02 am
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          I don’t really think it will go that way but do see it as still possible. Kylo talking down about her parents is kind of similar to how he talks about his own so maybe. I do find her story more meaningful coming from nowhere than being related to existing characters

          • March 14, 2018 at 2:56 am
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            Nothing in Star Wars is ever by coincidence. It all goes back to Lor San Tekka. He clearly knew Leia “She royalty to me” and Ben knew him at a much younger age “look how old you’ve become”. The fact that he’s there with a map to Luke Skywalker and Rey happens to be there. I believe Lor San Tekka was there to look over her. Rey was sent to Jakku with this Church of the Jedi after Ben’s turn to the dark side to protect her from Snoke and Kylo. Luke and Ben didn’t know about her yet, off on some mission or training. Han could easily be off doing other things to. They make it clear he’s not around much in the new Books.

          • March 14, 2018 at 3:27 am
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            Could just as easily say it was no coincidence BB-8 and Finn come across an unknown force user, without who they would most likely have been captured by the First Order. She doesn’t need to be anyone’s relative, and considering the ‘broom kid’ at the end of Last Jedi she was just the first of the undiscovered force users who will no doubt be the restoration of the Jedi.
            If she does turn out to be someone’s relative I preferred the Kenobi or Palpatine theories. I still think Kylo Ren may be redeemed and he and Rey may hook up, alternatively I’d prefer her be a child of Luke over Leia just to save the Skywalker name.
            Overall though it seems illogical that she would have now met Han, Leia and Luke and none of them said she was part of the family despite her training having begun her training and her being fully unhidden to Snoke and Kylo Ren. What point is left in misleading her?

      • March 13, 2018 at 8:56 pm
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        The Falcon’s ramp goes up, it goes down. It opens, it closes. That scene to me suggests Rey has cut Ben off at that point in the story. It’s more temporary than permanent.

        Rey could sense good in Ben, where Luke could not. That aspect mirrors Luke/Vader in the OT.

  • March 13, 2018 at 6:15 pm
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    Moving Ren’s scar for a cliched conception of coolness really foreshadowed the utter contempt Johnson had for TFA. Would be vaguely amusing if JJ moved it back. Maybe put it over the other eye?

    • March 13, 2018 at 8:15 pm
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      Minor detail that didn’t matter except to nitpicky whiners.

      • March 13, 2018 at 11:54 pm
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        Minor complaint about a minor detail that shouldn’t bother people except for juvenile snowflakes.

        • March 14, 2018 at 1:20 am
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          It doesn’t bother me. I just find it amusing that people choose to complain about such trivial things.

          • March 14, 2018 at 1:50 am
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            haha fair enough mate. I feel you there.

      • March 14, 2018 at 1:55 am
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        A minor detail that bothered enough RJ to changed it.

      • March 14, 2018 at 2:08 pm
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        Yes, totally forgetable.

    • March 13, 2018 at 9:50 pm
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      Jesus, you really have an active imagination, don’t you?

    • March 14, 2018 at 1:56 am
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      The position of the scar barely changed at all, it changed just as much between shots in Force Awaken as it did between VII and VIII

  • March 13, 2018 at 10:16 pm
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    1. It doesn’t matter if it is CGI, practical, or potatoes if it works and the story is good, anything can be used, (it doesn’t matter how much or how little you do, disney/LF don’t get this, it just doesn’t matter, not big deal).

    2. Rian/disney don’t get either, that the 9 movies are 1 big movie, at least that’s what was intended.

    3. It’s is just stupid that Luke didn’t wanted to help Leia at some point if she needs him …oh I forgot this is Jake, not Luke.

    • March 13, 2018 at 11:52 pm
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      “For me the story of the original trilogy is a complete story, and then the story of the prequels is a complete story” Johnson added.

      No, RJ, they aren’t. They are three individual Acts in a complete story. So much of the PT tied directly into the OT. Everything about the PT built up to the circumstances of the OT. Nothing about the ST relates to the PT or the OT in any shape, form, or way. TFA made plenty of references which could have been thoroughly developed in TLJ. The whole purpose of a Part 2 is to flesh out the story. Instead, RJ backtracked on everything TFA setup, and then essentially wrote his own Part 1. Now E9 has to both flesh out the story and wrap everything up. And we all know how good JJ is at executing endings…

  • March 13, 2018 at 10:45 pm
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    Just watched TLJ deleted scenes. Waht a shame ! they deleted so lot of good scenes that could have added deep to charcters and more emphaze them. Then they should cut by half canto bight arc,add deleted scenes remove the dumb ending and instead finish on the fallcon flying off Crait.

    I really hope Disney / LFL will consider a SE of TLJ at one point.

    • March 14, 2018 at 2:08 am
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      I hope they never go down the special edition route again with any of the films. I’d like the existing special editions to be redacted for that matter.

  • March 14, 2018 at 1:49 am
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    RJ : “This trilogy is also now going to be its own complete story” – – sort of now makes me wonder if there had been some original discussion about an over-arching story arc, rather than the singular approaches to story that has been implied thus far…

    • March 14, 2018 at 2:10 am
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      At this point they would need to throw away most of the plans for IX anyway since we lost Carrie

  • March 14, 2018 at 1:49 am
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    Am I allowed to (once again) question the TLJ macguffin by asking how Vader pursued Leia from Scarif to Tatooine…. ??? 🙂

    • March 14, 2018 at 2:06 am
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      It’s more a fault of Rogue One than IV or VII but we still don’t know how much time passed between Rogue One and VI, so it’s possible that after the Tantive arrived it was seen by other Imperial assets in that system and Vader jumped in after that

      • March 15, 2018 at 12:45 am
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        R1 is not at fault : the Tantive escapes, and Vader sees it leave the Scarif system……. then we see the Tantive and the Devastator above Tatooine. That seems a ‘clean line’ to me, if we’re assuming they travelled by hyperspace, and thus could be tracked. Whereas, in TESB, no SD was specifically pursuing the Falcon *when it appeared to jump to hyperspace* when in fact it hooked itself to the SD tower : hence Vader’s line, “Calculate every possible destination off their trajectory”.

        • March 15, 2018 at 2:38 am
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          I’m suggesting Rogue One is at fault only because up until then we had no information about how the chase started, Rogue One showed the Tantive escaping at light speed which creates the issue of how they were tracked. However it still seems possible that the Empire were informed of the arrival of Leia’s ship at Tatooine by an agent or Imperial forces that were already there so it’s not an insurmountable problem, and despite fan edits linking the end of Rogue One with the beginning of IV we don’t know how much time passed between the two

    • March 14, 2018 at 12:20 pm
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      The Tantive was leacking fuel which generated a trace in Hyperspace for Vader to follow. It is explained in the book From a Certain Point of View.

      • March 15, 2018 at 12:40 am
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        That’s the first time I’ve heard of that…. and of course that book is a very recent release…. and convenient for this specific conundrum. But that’s my point : you can’t write a plot macguffin, and then have to later rely on a passing book that might not get read to explain the flaw. LFL / RJ should have seen that complaint coming and addressed it *in the film* (either directly, or had a different macguffin altogether). It was lazy for so-called ‘fans’ and ‘benefactors’ to not recall similar scenarios. Even TFA has Han refer to the Guavian Gang tracking them from Nantoon : does that make Jakku and Nantoon interstellar neighbours in the same way as Hoth-Anoat-Bespin or Tatooine-Naboo-Geonosis ? Or for that matter Takodana-Hosnian (if one takes as read the explosions seen above Maz’s castle !).

  • March 14, 2018 at 5:14 am
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    Not even going to watch the video, but how does he explain making Finn a forgettable character, Rose annoying with that kiss and just so may other bad things.

    • March 14, 2018 at 5:28 am
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      If you can’t be bothered watching what information is provided, no one is likely to help you gather ammunition to be a more effective hater

    • March 14, 2018 at 2:15 pm
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      How does he explain in this interview things that annoyed you personally?

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