‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ "didn’t have a place" for Han Solo’s funeral.
The sci-fi fantasy film has been slapped with backlash since it hit the big screen last year because fans were expecting it to have a memorial service for the beloved character (played by Harrison Ford) after he died in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’.
But the director Rian Johnson has defended his decision not to have a special scene for the great leader because he thought it would mess up the pace of the film.
Speaking to Collider.com, he said: "[There was no debate of showing Han Solo’s funeral], just because pacing-wise it didn’t have a place. It’s tough in ‘Star Wars’ because I always think about the mourning that Luke gives to Ben’s death, which is all of four-and-a-half seconds before, ‘Come on kid we’re not out of this yet’ and then boom, you’re into ‘Yay, woo-hoo! Don’t get cocky!’ There’s the moment for it, but it’s not long. We don’t have time for our sorrows, commanders. That’s kind of the thing of ‘Star Wars’; you don’t really linger on grief because you’re moving forward."
However, the 44-year-old filmmaker is adamant there were moments in the movie where grief was felt – and not just because of Han Solo’s death.
He explained: "I think we do it a little more in this movie than typically is done. I really held onto that moment of Leia before they come out of hyperspace, just that moment of feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders."
Meanwhile, Duncan Jones recently admitted he was asked to direct a ‘Star Wars’ movie but he refused to divulge which one he was approached for.
He said: "After [‘Source Code’] there were lots of offers. And, to be honest, there continue to be offers to do kind of Marvel films and DC films and ‘Star Wars’ and stuff like that. I just, I don’t… I don’t want to do them."
Rian Johnson defends Han Solo’s funeral snub in Star Wars: The Last Jedi
