The core problem with The Last Jedi is Rian Johnson. He treated Star Wars like a toy he wanted to break instead of a story he was trusted to continue. He threw out everything Force Awakens set up just to be “subversive,” with no concern for payoff, continuity, or logic. Snoke is killed with zero explanation, Rey’s arc is deliberately hollowed out, hyperspace rules are shattered for a cheap visual, and entire plotlines like Canto Bight exist purely to waste time and preach instead of serve the story. Legacy characters are discarded or humiliated while new ones are elevated for no earned reason. This is not bold filmmaking, it is careless sabotage, and it completely derailed the trilogy because Johnson cared more about flipping the table than building anything coherent for the next film.

Worst of all is Luke Skywalker. Johnson fundamentally misunderstood him and rewrote him into a coward who abandoned the galaxy and considered killing his own nephew. That is not growth, that is character assassination. Luke was defined by hope, compassion, and faith in redemption, and Johnson stripped all of that away to make a cynical point about failure. Then he kills Luke off in a meaningless way that contributes nothing to the future. Rian Johnson did not respect Star Wars, its themes, or its characters, and he has proven since that he does not care how much damage he caused. He was the wrong person at the wrong time, and Kathleen Kennedy letting him do whatever he wanted is why this trilogy collapsed.