Joss Whedon Hated Empire Strikes Back

Joss Whedon hates The Empire Strikes Back.

Well, he only kind of hates it; in fact, he just has a big problem with a single aspect of the Star Wars sequel. The Avengers director made the revelation during a discussion with Entertainment Weekly.

Whedon was asked which sequels got it right, answering The Godfather 2 and The Empire Strikes Back; however, he appears to have a monumental problem with the conclusion to the latter.

Whedon remarked, “Empire committed the cardinal sin of not actually ending. Which at the time I was appalled by and I still think it was a terrible idea.”

The Entertainment Weekly interviewer then interjected, “You think Empire had a bad ending?,” only for Whedon to answer, “Well, it’s not an ending.”

He then continued, “It’s a Come Back Next Week, or in three years. And that upsets me. I go to movies expecting to have a whole experience. If I want a movie that doesn’t end I’ll go to a French movie. That’s a betrayal of trust to me. A movie has to be complete within itself, it can’t just build off the first one or play variations.”

Whedon, of course, has a point, because the ending to the sequel simply leaves Luke Skywalker pondering about Darth Vader’s revelation, while Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca set off to rescue Hans Solo from Jabba the Hutt and Boba Fett.

Elsewhere in the interview, Whedon discusses his creativity, admitting that he owes a lot of credit to his mother who wouldn’t allow him to talk between breakfast and lunch.

Whedon remarked, “I spent a ton of time alone. I was raised by a feminist, I had a terrifying father, and oppressively scary and mean brothers. We had a farm. The rule was between breakfast and lunch you weren’t allowed to make a sound. ‘Quiet time’ is what we called it, because my mom was writing.”

He then added, “So what are you doing? You’re either writing, or you’re eating, or you’re walking up and down your driveway creating giant science-fiction universes and various elaborate vengeance schemes upon your brothers. At our apartment in New York, I’d stay in my room and listen to [Star Wars composer] John Williams and make up stories.”

[Image via Joe Seer/Shutterstock]