Rian Johnson Wishes That He Could Have Test Screened The Last Jedi

Directed by Rian Johnson, Knives Out was a critical success when it opened in theatres last year, receiving praise for its witty screenwriting, direction, and enigmatic characters. The film starring a talented array of performers such as Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, and Ana de Armas earned multiple nominations during the awards season, including one for Best Original Screenplay at the 92nd Academy Awards.

The film had generated positive buzz before its release thanks to its well-received test-screenings. Rian Johnson opened up on how he felt about the process on the DVD release of Knives Out (via CinemaBlend), wishing that he could have done the same for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which he also helmed.

It was like a party in the theatre, it was really fun. It was like the first time I was like ‘Oh wow, this actually plays. This is good.’ Which is really nice and that’s something on Star Wars, you can’t test Star Wars movies for a lot of different reasons. I’ve always hated test screening, and when we were making Star Wars, at a certain point in in the process you’re like ‘God, I would give my left arm to put this in front of 300 people in Burbank and just see how it plays.’

Considering the amount of secrecy that goes into the galaxy far, far away, it would have been impossible to present the The Last Jedi early at a test-screening. Spoilers are taken very seriously and as such, the director could have felt anxious with the absence of such a litmus test. Johnson also excitedly spoke about the success of his whodunnit feature, exclaiming:

I’m blown away, man. We just set out to make a fun movie that audiences could enjoy. We never imagined that we’d be in a conversation like this.

Knives Out was a commercial hit, earning $312 million (USD) worldwide against a reported budget of $40 million (USD), so it’s no wonder the director is smiling from ear to ear. As of now, Johnson is developing a follow-up to Knives Out, with Daniel Craig’s Detective Benoit Blanc set to return to investigate a new mystery. With any luck, we’ll get fed with doughnut holes in doughnut holes in doughnut holes in doughn-…

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