According to director Rian Johnson, humor is an integral part of the Star Wars Franchise. Johnson, who directed Star Wars: The Last Jedi, tells Variety that dating back to the original films in the 1970s, the comedic undertones of Star Wars have always been incorporated into the stories for cinematic relief. Many fans did not take to Johnson’s movie, and it has been the most criticized of the films. Johnson, however, stands by the choices that he made.

The scene explicitly criticized in The Last Jedi is when General Hux (Domnhall Gleeson) finds himself threatening Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac). Hux exclaims, “You and your friends are doomed. We will wipe your filth from the galaxy.” In a clever attempt to stall for time, Poe responds with a joke, pretending he can’t hear Hux over the intercom and quipping, “Ok, I’ll hold.” This brief exchange adds a touch of levity to the otherwise tense scene.

“Anyone who thinks that slightly goofy humor does not have a place in the Star Wars universe, I don’t know if they’ve seen Return of The Jedi. There’s a scene where Han Solo is like a cartoon… tied up to a pole, and a torch goes by him, and he [tries to blow it out repeatedly].”

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Despite some die-hard fans taking Star Wars very seriously, Johnson says that the humor to balance out the drama is an equally important part of the film’s legacies.

Rian Johnson Reflects on Star Wars Impact

     Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Rian Johnson was part of a Star Wars retrospective hosted by GQ in which he shared his thoughts on his film, The Last Jedi. Johnson also had the opportunity to discuss the other franchise films’ impact on him. For example, the director said that when he was young and first watched The Empire Strikes Back, it “had this deep, profound impact on me.” Johnson states that he and many fans have an emotional bond with the films because they grew up with them.

“I think it’s impossible for any of us to approach Star Wars without thinking about it as a myth that we were raised with, and how that myth that story baked itself into us and affected us."

Johnson’s The Last Jedi was released in 2017 and celebrated its 5th anniversary in August. The most recent in the franchise, The Rise of Skywalker, was directed by JJ Abrams, concluding the Skywalker Saga in the Star Wars universe.