Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson spoke highly of J.J. Abrams' sequel The Rise of Skywalker at the Oscars on Sunday night. He told MTV News that "it was a really special experience" to watch the movie as a fan of the sci-fi saga.
"I had a blast, man. Made me so proud and seeing the heart and soul that J.J. put into it," Johnson said. "And seeing my friends who were in the movie just like, bring the whole thing to a conclusion.
.@joshuahorowitz caught up with @rianjohnson on the #Oscars red carpet to talk about the forthcoming #KnivesOut sequel and what Rian thought of 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' pic.twitter.com/B1tPNlIM0x
— MTV NEWS (@MTVNEWS) February 10, 2020
The Last Jedi, which came out in 2017, took some surprising turns and left fans divided to the point where Johnson got death threats. Abrams' followup, which completed the nine-movie Star Wars saga, felt comparatively safe.
The Rise of Skywalker didn't win any Oscars, while Johnson's Knives Out (his first film since The Last Jedi) lost out to Bong Joon-ho's Parasite -- the night's big winner -- for best original screenplay. However, Johnson certainly won style points for his delightful cufflinks shaped like porgs, the cute avians he created for his Star Wars movie.
He wasn't the only member of the Star Wars family to be asked about The Rise of Skywalker on Sunday -- actor Kelly Marie Tran addressed her character Rose Tico's reduced role compared to The Last Jedi, saying she was happy "to be part of something so much bigger" than her.
First published Feb. 11, 4:20 a.m. PT.
Updates 5:05 am. PT: Adds more detail.
