Rian Johnson says he wishes he could have screen-tested Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi was a film that truly divided fans, with many considering it one of the best Star Wars films ever and others believing it to be the worst.
The film had a number of shocking moments and brave plot decisions so its not surprising that Rian Johnson wished he could have done a screen test for the film before release. This wasn’t possible with Disney’s high level of secrecy, however.
Speaking as part of the home release for Knives Out (via ScreenRant), Johnsons said; “It was like a party in the theater, it was really fun. It was like the first time I was like ‘Oh wow, this actually plays. This is good.’ Which is really nice and that’s something on Star Wars, you can’t test Star Wars movies for a lot of different reasons. I’ve always hated test screening, and when we were making Star Wars, at a certain point in the process you’re like ‘God, I would give my left arm to put this in front of 300 people in Burbank and just see how it plays.’”
SEE ALSO: Rian Johnson praises Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker as a “special experience”
Given the divisiveness of the film, it’s certainly interesting to think how The Last Jedi might have played with test audiences, and whether this reaction would have had any bearing on the final film.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi sees returning cast members Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata), Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Gwendoline Christie (Captain Phasma), Billie Lourd (Lieutenant Connix), Andy Serkis (Supreme Leader Snoke), Peter Mayhew and Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca), Tim Rose (Admiral Ackbar), Mike Quinn (Nien Nunb) and Warwick Davis joined by new additions Jimmy Vee (Pan) as R2-D2, Kelly Marie Tran (Ladies Like Us) as Rose, Benicio Del Toro (Guardians of the Galaxy) as DJ and Laura Dern (Jurassic Park).
