Rian Johnson’s Star Wars Trilogy Gets the Update Many Fans Were Waiting For

About a month before Star Wars: The Last Jedi hit theaters, it was announced that director Rian Johnson was staying in business with Lucasfilm to develop an all-new Star Wars movie trilogy. But then The Last Jedi became one of the most divisive blockbuster films in recent memory, Johnson launched the successful Knives Out series, and little to no progress has been made on his Star Wars project. Over the past eight years, Johnson has remained open to the idea of returning to the galaxy far, far away, but fans increasingly became convinced that the director’s trilogy was fated to join the ever-growing list of announced Star Wars movies that never came to fruition. The latest update basically confirms that is the case.

In a Hollywood Reporter profile on Johnson, the outlet notes “that plan is effectively dead” when referencing the Star Wars trilogy announcement. Johnson’s next project following this year’s Wake Up Dead Man is described as a “’70s-inspired paranoid thriller” rather than the first installment of a new Star Wars series

Johnson didn’t provide an update on the trilogy himself in the interview. All he said about Star Wars was, “A part of my brain will always be in Star Wars. It’s so much a part of me and the way I think.”

The Saga of Rian Johnson’s Star Wars Trilogy Should Be Over

Much like The Last Jedi itself, the phrase “effectively dead” being used to describe the status of Johnson’s planned trilogy will probably elicit mixed responses. Those who enjoyed The Last Jedi and appreciated Johnson’s approach to push the franchise in new directions will be disappointed to hear he’s moved on. Viewers who derided Johnson’s controversial creative choices and storytelling methods will likely feel Star Wars is better off without him. For a certain circle of viewers, The Last Jedi is when Star Wars’ Disney era started to go downhill, setting the stage for the sequel trilogy’s underwhelming conclusion in The Rise of Skywalker.

While there were fans holding out hope that Johnson’s trilogy would eventually see the light of day, this latest update isn’t all that surprising. The writing seemed to be on the wall, especially after Star Wars Celebration Japan in April. There, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy outlined a full slate of new Star Wars movies that are in development, and she didn’t mention Johnson’s name. Films from James Mangold, Taika Waititi, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Simon Kinberg, and Dave Filoni are in the works, basically confirming that Lucasfilm has closed the book on Johnson. Many of these projects do not have release dates, so if Johnson’s trilogy was still truly in the works, Kennedy probably would have listed it among the others.

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The Last Jedi was polarizing, but there was still a lot to admire in Johnson’s desire to push boundaries and try something new with Star Wars. In the past, the franchise has been guilty of leaning too heavily on nostalgia, holding it back from evolving. Based on the deconstructionist approach Johnson took with his Skywalker Saga installment (ironically the one Star Wars movie from Disney’s initial slate that wasn’t plagued by behind-the-scenes issues), it would have been very exciting to see what he could have done with a clean slate of new characters. Perhaps audiences would have been more receptive to Johnson’s ideas in a film that wasn’t connected to legacy figures like Luke Skywalker.

One of Johnson’s trademarks as a filmmaker is subverting expectations and tropes in well-worn genres, putting a fresh spin on things. He’s arguably the kind of creative voice Star Wars needs as the IP prepares to start a new era on the big screen. Rather than move forward with Johnson’s trilogy, Lucasfilm has The Mandalorian & Grogu and Star Wars: Starfighter on the way, looking to re-establish the Star Wars brand on the big screen. Hopefully, those films are very successful and pave the way for more Star Wars movies to get the green light. Kennedy has expressed a hopefulness that the franchise is now in a place where creatives can come in and tell standalone stories that mean something to them. Ideally, she’ll play her cards right and Johnson’s trilogy won’t be a “what if” hanging over Lucasfilm.

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