Rian Johnson is still working on a totally newStar Warstrilogy. Normally, it wouldn’t necessarily be news to find out that a previously announced project is still happening. Yet, this isn’t just any project. Johnson directedThe Last Jedi, which wound up being commercially very successful, even though it proved to be quite divisive amongst the fanbase, and caused downright vitriol from a small, vocal contingent. Disney and Lucasfilm seem to be unwavering, as Johnson has just shared some new, albeit very vague, details regarding his next trip to a galaxy far, far away.
FollowingThe Last Jedi,Rian Johnsonset his sights on a slightly smaller project,Knives Out, which is an original murder mystery with a mighty impressive ensemble cast. With that movie’s November release date creeping up, Johnson has started doing some press and, during a recent interview, he was asked about his mysteriousStar Warstrilogy. Here’s what he had to say about it.
“I think that the fun and challenging part of it is to dive in, figure out what’s exciting and then figure out what it’s going to be. We’re doing something that steps beyond the legacy characters. What does that look like? To me, the blue sky element of it is what was most striking about it. I know the way that I’m coming at it and what’s fun about it for everyone inGeorge Lucas' filmsis figuring out, ‘what’s the next step?’ It really makes you think and figure out what the essence of Star Wars is for me and what that will look like moving forward.”
The content of what is being said there is nothing too new. It was already made clear that Rian Johnson would be crafting an entirely new story centered on new characters in this universe. It just isn’t clear when, in terms of the overall timeline, the story will take place. This year’sThe Rise of Skywalkeris set to not onlyconclude the new sequel trilogy, but also the Skywalker saga in general. That means, whatever comes next, will be markedly different than what we’ve seen before.
Though, it’s not just the response toThe Last Jedithat had some questioning whether or not this trilogy was going to happen.David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the creators behindGame of Thrones, have been tapped to do a new trilogy as well. Disney doesn’t have anotherStar Warsmovie on the books until December 2022 and it’s already been confirmed that movie will be the first in the Benioff and Weiss trilogy. Further movies are dated for December 2024 and 2026.
So, from a practical standpoint, when will the Rian Johnson trilogy happen? Will it not even start until at least 2027? Will Lucasfilm alternate installments? That seems unlikely, as it would seriously break up the storytelling for both trilogies. Will Johnson make a smaller scale trilogy that can air exclusively on the Disney+ streaming service? Far more questions than answers, but, at least for now, this is still on the books. This news comes to us viaObserver.
