The Last Jedi Director Rian Johnson Discusses The Inherent Humor Of Star Wars
There are some movies that can make viewers truly emotional. Some are even difficult to watch, whether it be from the intensity of the plot or even from gut-wrenching depictions of real-life tragedy. It is the filmmaker's job to break up these heavy moments with scenes or lines of dialogue that take the viewers out of the drama, so they can experience a taste of lighthearted humor. As director Rian Johnson explained during his interview with GQ, these comic relief moments even occur within some of the most iconic movies, including the "Star Wars" saga.
Plenty of "Star Wars" fans are already aware of these funny moments sprinkled throughout the films, most notably within the original trilogy. In "Star Wars: A New Hope," the banter between droids C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) often pulls viewers away from the dramatic story line. Meanwhile, in "The Empire Strikes Back," the scenes of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) giving conflicting instructions to a small maintenance droid, as well as Yoda (Frank Oz) rummaging through Luke's (Mark Hamill) belongings, will result in a chuckle. As for "The Last Jedi," Johnson had his own directorial opportunity to include these ever-important comedic moments.
Funny moments can be found throughout the Star Wars saga
When Rian Johnson sat down with GQ to discuss his most iconic films, the director spoke about how important the humorous moments scattered across "Star Wars" are. "There's literally a scene where Han Solo is — like a cartoon — trussed up to a pole," Johnson said, referring to an Ewoks scene in "Return of the Jedi." "A torch goes by him to light the fire to cook him, and Han Solo does this [blows air out of his mouth]." Johnson then recalled a scene in "A New Hope" when Chewbacca roared at a tiny imperial droid, causing it to scamper away like a dog. "The slightly self-aware element of gleeful humor is something that is part and parcel to Star Wars," Johnson said.
Johnson got the opportunity to direct his own lighthearted scenes, like during the opening sequence of "The Last Jedi." The scene occurs when Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) pilots his X-Wing toward the imperial command ship, and he asks to speak to General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson). In order to distract the enemy, Poe has a funny back-and-forth with Hux, pretending that the audio signal between the two of them isn't working. "For me, that scene with Hux and Poe," Johnson said, "besides just being a hell of a lot of fun, was also something that felt essentially 'Star Wars' to me."