Star Wars' JJ Abrams responds to Rise of Skywalker's mixed response and Last Jedi retcon claims

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is finally out, and its heavy focus on nostalgia has hugely divided opinion between those who think the film was lazy or cringe-worthy, and those who enjoyed being reminded of their childhoods.

In terms of the critics' response, it's one of the worst reviewed movies in the franchise. With it being an end to the sequel trilogy and the Skywalker Saga, how does director JJ Abrams respond to the film's less than stellar reception?

Speaking to Vanity Fair at a post-screening Q&A, Abrams said: "I was asked just seven hours ago in another country, 'So how do you go about pleasing everyone?' I was like 'What…?' Not to say that that's what anyone should try to do anyway, but how would one go about it? Especially with Star Wars.

"We knew starting this that any decision we made – a design decision, a musical decision, a narrative decision – would please someone and infuriate someone else. There is an MO of either 'It’s exactly as I see it, or you’re my enemy'.

Related: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker unanswered questions

"It's a crazy thing that there's such a norm that seems to be void of nuance and compassion – and this is not [a phenomenon] about Star Wars, this is about everything."

While JJ understood fan backlash, he did dimiss the notion that he clashed with Rian Johnson over the choices made in The Last Jedi, a claim fuelled by the amount of supposed retcons TRoS makes.

"One of the many brilliant things that Rian did in The Last Jedi was give Luke an arc," JJ said. "He learned something. He got somewhere.

Related: The Mandalorian star trashes The Rise of Skywalker

"So at the end of that film he recommitted to the thing at the very beginning of the film he was rejecting, so the idea that even Luke Skywalker can learn something. I think for a kid to hear Luke Skywalker say I was wrong, I think is a beautiful thing. And I think it's something we could all probably do with, a little bit."

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is out now in the UK and the US.

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Joe Anderton

Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.