Whether you think Disney’s Sequel Trilogy was a triumph or an unmitigated disaster, everyone agrees that the cast did a good job. The core trio of Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac did the best they could with the material they were given, with criticism justifiably reserved for production, directorial and script decisions. However, since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker‘s release, we’ve heard rumblings that the actors weren’t particularly pleased with how the film ended up.
Isaac, in particular, expressed regret that the ‘overlords’ at Disney wouldn’t allow the bromance between Poe and Finn to develop further, strongly hinting that commercial pressures caused the Mouse House to actively squash any hint of gayness in the movie. Whatever else he thought, he can’t have been particularly pleased with The Rise of Skywalker becoming the worst-reviewed Star Wars movie of all time and receiving a ton of criticism from fans.
Now, with over a month to reflect on the film, Isaacs was asked by MTV News how he felt about the negative reception and whether he was surprised by it, and here’s what he said:
“Not really. You know, it was the same on the movie before that as well. You know – it means a lot to people, so.”
It’s a pretty non-committal answer, though it should be said that The Last Jedi was a very different beast. That film scored a 91% on the Tomatometer, while The Rise of Skywalker sits at a lowly 52%. So, was all this criticism justified? Isaac jokingly responded:
“Yeah, look. Was there some crying in the shower? Yes!”
Honestly, I think Isaac is just glad to put Star Wars and Disney behind him. He’s said that he doesn’t want to play Poe Dameron in a Disney Plus spinoff show and, as a supremely talented actor, is probably looking forward to getting involved in productions that use his talents better. For instance, he’s starring in Dune this December, so fingers crossed that’ll turn out a bit better than Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker did.
