Rian Johnson Has Begun Working on New 'Star Wars' Trilogy

With The Last Jedi now available on Digital HD and landing on Blu-ray next week, fans' focuses have shifted from the most recent chapter in the Skywalker saga to the future of the franchise, with Solo: A Star Wars Story hitting theaters on May 25th and Episode IX debuting on December 20, 2019. Even further over the horizon is an all-new trilogy of live-action films from writer/director Rian Johnson with producer Ram Bergman, who have confirmed they have finally begun to develop the upcoming movies.

While attending this year's Empire Awards, the duo revealed to Empire Magazine that the event was the absolute last stop on the Last Jedi press circuit, with the pair now looking to the future. Johnson has played coy about revealing any details involving the trilogy of films and their subject matter, often refusing to even acknowledge whether or not he had thought up a narrative for the films. Bergman, on the other hand, confirmed that they have begun focusing on the trilogy and the areas it will explore.

No timeframe for the release of these films has been confirmed, so we shouldn't expect to learn any concrete details about what the films will be about anytime soon, but Bergman's comments are the first official confirmation that work has begun on the films in any capacity.

Lucasfilm revealed their plans to move forward with another trilogy from Johnson last fall based on the success and enjoyment of collaborating with the filmmaker on The Last Jedi.

"We all loved working with Rian on The Last Jedi," Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, shared in a statement. "He's a creative force, and watching him craft The Last Jedi from start to finish was one of the great joys of my career. Rian will do amazing things with the blank canvas of this new trilogy."

Interestingly, Lucasfilm has earned a reputation in recent years for disagreeing with filmmakers they've fired, with Colin Trevorrow abandoning his directing duties on Episode IX and Solo: A Star Wars Story directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller being replaced by Ron Howard with only weeks left of production.

Conversely, Lucasfilm was so excited by Johnson's voice that they wanted even more films from him, with the new trilogy being completely separate from the Skywalker saga and not serving as merely spinoffs to well-known characters or events.

Which Star Wars films are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments below!

[H/T YouTube, Empire Magazine]