Quite the hornet’s nest has been stirred up by fan reaction to ‘The Last Jedi,’ and it has not helped that they have seemingly had Luke Skywalker himself on their side, quoting Mark Hamill’s interview with Vanity Fair back in May when he revealed disagreements with director Rian Johnson about the handling of Luke Skywalker in the film. Quotes such as Hamill claiming to have told Johnson, “I pretty much fundamentally disagree with every choice you’ve made for this character” have spurred a lot of ‘The Last Jedi’ naysayers into believing their opinion to be fully justified and have led to outcries over almost every aspect of the film, petitions to have it removed from canon and remade by another director, and cries that Disney has ruined the franchise.
Sadly, Hamill nows see those comments as a mistake, not necessarily apologizing for making them, but rather regretting letting them out so publicly, as he acknowledges that in the end the movie, to him, is rather good, and disagreements about production are common in filmmaking, and it is best to keep discussions like that a bit more private, especially in a major franchise like ‘Star Wars.’ So Hamill took to Twitter to publicly share his regret over his comments, here’s the quote:
“I regret voicing my doubts & insecurities in public. Creative differences are a common element of any project but usually remain private. All I wanted was to make good movie. I got more than that- @rianjohnson made an all-time GREAT one! #HumbledHamill”
And here’s the full Tweet from the man himself:
I regret voicing my doubts & insecurities in public.Creative differences are a common element of any project but usually remain private. All I wanted was to make good movie. I got more than that- @rianjohnson made an all-time GREAT one! #HumbledHamill https://t.co/8ujJfBuEdV
— @HamillHimself (@HamillHimself) December 26, 2017
You have to respect Hamill not only for having his own opinion in the first place, but also for being humble enough to admit he made a mistake and come out publicly to acknowledge that, and throw his support to Johnson and the film, though I am sure the more critical fans will just fire back that he was “paid by Disney” to do so, as they say almost every time something like this happens. Johnson himself has been rather mature about the reaction to the film, seeing the fan division and dissection of his film as something necessary for the franchise to mature, stating:
“The goal is never to divide or make people upset, but I do think the conversations that are happening were going to have to happen at some point if ‘Star Wars’ is going to grow, move forward and stay vital.”
What are your thoughts here? Did Hamill put his foot in his mouth and lose faith in his director, only to be proven wrong once he saw the final product? Or did loyalty force him to change his tune? Are you still on the fence about ‘The Last Jedi?’ Have you seen it more than once? (some fans are swearing the second viewing is eye opening to those who came out the first time with a negative opinion) Feel free to share any of your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: THR
