Rian Johnson will forever remain a contentious figure in the Star Wars history books. His film The Last Jedi was the most divisive in the franchise’s history. Strong performances, particularly from the likes of Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Adam Driver were well received by fans, while critics loved the sharp narrative turns Johnson employed. But those who disliked the film, really disliked the film. And a major reason for that was “too much humor”.

Johnson, however, has responded to that claim while speaking with GQ. His films in the Knives Out universe show a man with an innate understanding of how to make audiences laugh, and to him, that comedy out of a serious situation is something that has always been a key to the Star Wars universe.

“For me, everything in the movie is Star Wars, and everything in the movie I can trace back to deeply, in a deep way, what Star Wars is for me,” Johnson said. “Everyone has a different take. I know there are Star Wars fans who somehow think that Star Wars was a serious thing, like the Batman movies or something. I was so young that when I watched Empire Strikes Back, it had this deep, profound impact on me, because it was terrifying, because I was just young enough to not experience it as watching a Star Wars movie, but to have it feel like too real.”

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The director referenced two incidents in particular which struck a chord with him when he was a youngster, citing the scene in Return of the Jedi where Han Solo is tied up over a pile of tinder and the Ewoks are preparing to light it on fire and cook him. In response, Solo tries to blow out the flames.

“Anyone who thinks that slightly goofy humor does not have a place in the Star Wars universe, I don’t know if they’ve seen Return of The Jedi,” he said. “Even the first movie, they’re in the heart of the Death Star and they’re trying to do this desperate gambit to get out with their lives and save the princess, where they’re pretending that Chewbacca is their prisoner. The little imperial droid comes up, Chewbacca roars at it, and the droid, like a scared dog, goes screeching and wheels away.”

Johnson has also recently commented on his desire to return to Star Wars, after it was announced five years ago that he was to helm his own original trilogy of films. He remains keen to head to the stars once more:

It wouldn’t be the end of the world for anyone, I think. But I would be sad. I love the world. I love the people. I love ‘Star Wars’ fans. I love the passion of how they engage in it, there’s nothing like telling a story in this world and then experiencing people truly connecting to it and letting you know that. It’s extraordinary. So I’m hoping I get to do it again, but nothing is the end of the world until the end of the world actually happens, which, what day of the week is it?

For the time being, you can see The Last Jedi streaming on Disney+, while Glass Onion starts streaming on Netflix on December 23. Check out Collider’s chat with Johnson and Knives Out star Daniel Craig down below.