Speaking with author and interviewer Sariah Wilson, Johnson elaborated a bit on why he went the direction he did with the big bad Supreme Leader. According to Wilson, the director had little interest in the character from the beginning, believing that continuing the story as it had been laid out would have simply turned into “repeating exactly the original trilogy” rather than telling an actual new and original tale (though he isn’t entirely averse to referencing past Star Wars films). To him, the extent of Snoke’s purpose was how his influence affected Kylo Ren.
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Johnson’s view was that, rather than repeating the Emperor and Vader dynamic from the original Star Wars trilogy with Kylo serving his leader as the First Order’s top enforcer, it would have been much more interesting to see Kylo ascend to a position of real power. That would allow for some new opportunities to explore his character in ways that hadn’t been done before in the mainline Star Wars series. Whether he succeeded or not is ultimately up to the viewer, though it’s difficult to tell for sure due to the abrupt shift in direction seen in Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.
This focus was mostly at odds with the prevailing fan theories at the time, most of which revolved around who Snoke actually was. A popular one (and one which Wilson herself personally enjoyed) was the idea that the Supreme Leader was actually a reincarnated Darth Plagueis, known as the fabled Sith lord who many believed had mastered the ability to cheat death. While Johnson is clearly not averse to big reveals in his movies, he decided that developing the new characters was more important than rehashing old ones.
The Last Jedi is infamous in the Star Wars fandom for its divisiveness. Since its premiere, many long time fans of the series were put off by the focus on moving forward rather than attempting to recapture similar beats and ideas from the older films, and that backlash seems to be partly responsible for the arguably even more poorly received changes seen in The Rise of Skywalker. As a result, it’s difficult to imagine where the sequel trilogy could have gone if Johnson’s plot threads had been respected rather than tossed away in favor of the heavily cliched plot of its successor.
Still, as loud as the detractors are, Johnson’s Star Wars film has a surprising number of supporters that possibly outnumber the rest. As the director of such hits as Knives Out, he’s earned plenty of clout in the industry, and many enjoyed how his intricate style translated to the Star Wars formula. Luckily, it seems fans will get another chance to experience his take on the universe, as Johnson’s own upcoming Star Wars trilogy is reportedly still on track. So hopefully everyone gets what they want in the end.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is now available on Disney Plus.
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Source: Sariah Wilson/Twitter
