A lot of people really liked Rian Johnson's fresh approach to Star Wars with The Last Jedi. However, a very vocal contingent of fans really did not. It wouldn't be shocking for Rian Johnson to reevaluate his approach considering he has an entirely new Star Wars trilogy in front of him. However, the writer/director says that the negative response won't affect his process of writing the new trilogy, simply because it's impossible to tell a story that comes from the heart while also trying to make everybody happy...
No, not really. I mean, I feel like every Star Wars thing that ever gets made has a big, loud response because Star Wars fans are passionate and that's what makes them awesome. But no, I don't think it's possible when you, if you're really telling a story you care about and having it come from your heart, it's just not possible to be intellectually processing what everyone else wants. Nor would it be a good thing, a healthy thing. I don't think that's a good way to tell a story.
It's certainly true that Star Wars fans are passionate. Ask one what they think of the prequel films if you don't believe that. As much as the original trilogy is fairly universally loved, everything that has come after has both its passionate fans and its equally, if not more so, passionate detractors. Certainly, Rian Johnson wants people to like his movies, but there are simply too many people with too many opinions out there. Even if Johnson wanted to try to make the fans happy with his new trilogy, as he tells Fandango's Erik Davis at SXSW, such a thing is essentially impossible.
At the end of the day, all Rian Johnson can do is tell the best possible story that he can, and then put it out in the world for the viewers to judge for themselves. Hopefully, a lot of people will like it, but it's highly unlikely that everyone will.
If Rian Johnson has one thing going for him this time around that wasn't the case with The Last Jedi, it's that this new trilogy won't suffer under the weight of the existing franchise. We've been told Johnson's new trilogy will consist of entirely original characters and take place in some other corner of the galaxy, far, far away. Since much of the criticism of The Last Jedi had to do with how Johnson handled existing characters, he won't have to worry about preconceived notions this time.
According to Rian Johnson, his new trilogy is still in the very early stages, so it will be sometime before we know much of anything about it. The one thing that we apparently do know is that the story will come from his heart, without any significant external influence.
