J.J. Abrams Says 'The Last Jedi' Haters Feel 'Threatened By Women'

J.J. Abrams is not here for your Star Wars hate.

J.J. Abrams speaks on stage at a fan screening of 'The Cloverfield Paradox.'
Getty

Image via David M. Benett/Getty Images

J.J. Abrams speaks on stage at a fan screening of 'The Cloverfield Paradox.'

J.J. Abrams is not concerned with the Star Wars: The Last Jedi haters.

Ahead of filming the next Star Wars installment aka Episode IX, Abrams told IndieWire that the criticism of Rian Johnson's film comes from fans who feel like they're "being threatened by women."

"Star Wars is a big galaxy, and you can sort of find almost anything you want to in Star Wars," he said. "If you are someone who feels threatened by women and needs to lash out against them, you can probably find an enemy in Star Wars. You can probably look at the first movie that George [Lucas] did [‘Star Wars: A New Hope’] and say that Leia was too outspoken, or she was too tough. Anyone who wants to find a problem with anything can find the problem. The internet seems to be made for that."

Back in December, The Last Jedi's Rotten Tomatoes score went down with several commenters saying that it was due to the film "introducing more female characters into the franchise's universe," that it was "politically correct to the point of boredom" and that they were "frustrated that feminism and diversity have made their way into the film." There was even an all-male fan-made version (and the subsequent all-female version) of the film released last month.

Star Wars, which has been and still is dominated by white men in terms of writers, started to include more women and people of color in its films including Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, Oscar Isaac as Poe, and Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico. And Abrams isn't cutting either of their stories short anytime soon.

"There’s a lot that I would like to say about it, but I feel like it’s a little early to be having the Episode IX conversation," said Abrams. "I will say that the story of Rey and Poe and Finn and Kylo Ren—and if you look, there are three men and one woman, to those that are complaining that there are too many women in Star Wars—their story continues in a way that I couldn’t be more excited about and cannot wait for people to see."

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