Will Its Fan Reception Change Over Time?
To start with, here’s one question that’s not to do with the film itself but rather about its unexpectedly controversial fan response: will Star Wars fans’ attitudes to The Last Jedi soften over time?
While it’s been met with overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics, The Last Jedi seems to have split the fandom right down the middle. While some believe it’s the boldest, smartest Star Wars movie yet, others see it as totally disrespecting the characters and the universe that was set up in prior installments. This has led to a shockingly low audience aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes – 56%, even lower than that of all three of the prequel movies.
We’re wondering if this attitude will ameliorate by the time Episode IX rolls around, though. After all, The Force Awakens‘ reception kind of went the opposite way: initially, it was received very warmly but after a while the backlash from those who complained that it was too derivative began.
If fans don’t ease up, it could have an affect on Disney’s faith in Rian Johnson to helm his own trilogy of movies after J.J. Abrams completes the current one.
Is A Rey/Finn/Rose Love Triangle Coming?
The big growing romance of The Force Awakens was Rey and Finn. Though they never did anything overtly romantic, the deep feelings between the couple was clear. Apparently this wasn’t something Rian Johnson was interested in exploring, though, as he paired up the characters with other people.
In particular, Finn got close with brave Resistance fighter Rose Tico. At the end of the movie, he affectionately pulled a blanket over the injured Rose and waited by her side. A brief glance from Rey towards the pair, meanwhile, showed she was a little hurt that Finn was paying this much attention to someone else.
Seeing as Rose is completely a Johnson creation, it’s unclear if Abrams will continue to delve into the Finn/Rose friendship and possible romance, perhaps building some kind of love triangle along with Rey instead? It would be very easy, however, to disregard any hint that Finn has feelings for Rose and buckle down on Rey and Finn’s relationship, as it’s clear from his work on TFA that he wants them to pair up.