Rian Johnson's Last Jedi: Fandom's Fiery Divide

Picture this: a blockbuster that smashes the box office, rakes in over $1.33 billion worldwide, and still manages to ignite one of the most intense, polarizing fandom firestorms in recent memory. That’s what happened in 2017, when Star Wars: The Last Jedi hit theaters—directed by Rian Johnson, starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley, and Adam Driver. But this wasn’t just another sequel. It split the Star Wars fanbase down the middle, and the aftershocks are still rippling through the internet today.

At its core, The Last Jedi made some bold choices. Rian Johnson wrote and directed the film, taking the story in unexpected directions. For example, the death of Supreme Leader Snoke—played by Andy Serkis—happened halfway through the movie, upending expectations that he’d be the trilogy’s final villain. Snoke’s demise was called “the best movie twist in years” by Alex Leadbeater of Screen Rant, but many fans were left frustrated by what they saw as an underdeveloped character and a wasted plotline.

Another flashpoint: Rey’s parentage. Instead of revealing Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, as a Skywalker or Kenobi, Johnson’s script made her lineage “nobody”—her parents, according to the film, were insignificant. This decision contradicted years of fan theories and speculation, and for some, it felt like a betrayal. Johnson later explained that this move was designed to be “the hardest thing” for both Rey and the audience to hear, much like Luke Skywalker learning Darth Vader was his father in The Empire Strikes Back.

Then there’s Luke Skywalker himself. Mark Hamill returned to play an older, disillusioned Luke in self-imposed exile. Hamill publicly disagreed with his character’s direction during production, saying he felt this version of Luke was at odds with what fans expected. He later walked back those comments, but the debate over Luke’s arc—especially his ultimate fate—fuelled even more controversy online.

On the audience side, the numbers tell a wild story. CinemaScore polls from opening weekend gave The Last Jedi an “A” grade, and PostTrak found 89% positive reactions, with a rare five-star rating. But on user-driven sites, numbers plummeted. Rotten Tomatoes’ audience score was far lower, and later analysis pointed to possible “review-bombing,” with coordinated groups and bots targeting the film. Rotten Tomatoes eventually acknowledged that The Last Jedi was “seriously targeted” by a review-bombing campaign.

The film also marked a turning point in Star Wars representation. Kelly Marie Tran, cast as Rose Tico, became the first woman of color to have a lead role in a Star Wars film. Tran, however, faced a wave of racist and sexist harassment online, with critics accusing her character of representing “forced diversity.” The abuse was so intense that Tran quit social media, and her co-stars—Mark Hamill and John Boyega—publicly defended her against the harassment.

The controversy even spread to box office performance. In China, The Last Jedi made $28.7 million on its opening weekend, but within a week, movie exhibitors dropped the film’s showtimes by 90%. Its final gross in China was $42.5 million, a fraction of its haul elsewhere, as it was overshadowed by both Hollywood and local films.

Through all this, critical response was overwhelmingly positive: 91% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave The Last Jedi a thumbs-up, and Metacritic assigned it a score of 84 out of 100 based on 56 reviews. But the split in the fandom was so stark that Deadline Hollywood calculated the film’s net profit as $417 million—even as internet forums continued to argue over the film’s choices.

And here’s a detail you might’ve missed: Prince William and Prince Harry were cast in cameo roles as stormtroopers, but their scene was cut from the final version.