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Movies & TV

21st Nov 2019

Last Jedi director Rian Johnson on “toxic fandom” aimed at him and Game of Thrones showrunners

Rudi Kinsella

Rian Johnson

He also gave an update on another Star Wars movie he may be working on in the future.

Rian Johnson has had a fairly hectic few years.

Since the release of The Last Jedi, he has had to deal with the pressure that comes with being the man to blame for what is undeniably one of the most divisive movies of the last decade.

Some people thought the movie was incredible and a welcome break from the tried and tested Star Wars formula, while others thought it was fairly terrbile and ruined the good work J.J. Abrams did in The Force Awakens.

And in the era of social media, it is all too easy for disgruntled fans to make their opinions heard, and heard as viciously as possible.

If there are two people who know this better than anyone, it’s David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (D&D), the showrunners of Game of Thrones, and the men who have taken the brunt of the abuse following the controversial final season.

This story has come full circle too, with D&D having recently decided not to work on a Star Wars movie that they were schedueld to, with many believing it is due to fan backlash.

Johnson discussed this in a recent interview with Variety, saying that this is only “a small a part of the fandom” who engage in this toxic behaviour.

He said: “You always have to contextualise how small a part of the fandom that section is. I’m not talking about people who like or dislike a particular movie.

“I’m talking about the people who have dedicated themselves to abusing people who are involved in the films. It’s so small, but it gets blown up.

“Having been in the hurricane for the last two years, I can tell you that 95% of what I get even on Twitter is lovely and thoughtful and engaged, even when people don’t like my movie. Having said that, it’s a problem that every type of fandom is dealing with. It’s almost a byproduct of this system that is the internet.”

He also offered an update regarding reports that he will be taking over a new Star Wars trilogy soon enough, remaining fairly coy about the whole thing.

He said: “I’m still talking to Lucasfilm. They haven’t announced anything.

“Every single day there’s a new thing. Until it’s up on StarWars.com, don’t believe it.”

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