UPDATED: Rian Johnson Leaves Planned Star Wars Trilogy

UPDATE: Rian Johnson himself debunked the rumor on social media, confirming he’s still working on the trilogy. The original story follows below.

A new rumor in the Star Wars corner of the galaxy indicates that plans have changed, and that the future of the franchise is once again in flux.

While the report has yet to be confirmed, Super Bro Movies indicates that Rian Johnson will no longer be directing the planned Star Wars trilogy that would have been separate from the Skywalker Saga.

According to the rumor, Johnson has walked away from the franchise. Lucasfilm has not confirmed the rumors, which is interesting considering the company announced the departures of Phil Lord and Chris Miller from Solo: A Star Wars Story, as well as the departure of Colin Trevorrow from Star Wars: Episode IX, before the news hit other outlets.

Johnson’s trilogy was announced before the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which he wrote and directed. It was said to be completely unconnected from the events of the main saga and would have featured all new characters in entirely different settings.

The Last Jedi was a financial success for Lucasfilm and Disney, making over $1 billion at the box office and dominating sales charts for home video releases. But fan response was mixed, causing some people to trash Johnson and the film on social media over its depiction of Luke Skywalker, killing off characters like Supreme Leader Snoke, and introducing Rose Tico to the canon.

Online trolls also harassed Rose actress Kelly Marie Tran on social media, prompting her to delete her accounts in response to the backlash.

Of course, until Lucasfilm makes the announcement, we can’t reasonably say if this is accurate one way or another. Johnson has not been working on his trilogy since the announcement, as he immediately pivoted to write and direct his new mystery thriller Knives Out, due in theaters later this year.

Knives Out is a modern-day “whodunnit,” with Johnson returning to the same genre as his first film Brick. The movie stars Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Lakieth Stanfield, Jamie Lee Curtis, and many other prominent actors.

This also isn’t the end of the Star Wars franchise, with Star Wars: Episode IX premiering in theaters in December. Lucasfilm also announced a series of films to be written and produced by Game of Thrones showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, so the franchise will absolutely continue beyond the end of the Skywalker Saga.

Hopefully Disney or Lucasfilm addresses this rumor sooner than later and fans get some clarity about the future of the Star Wars franchise.

[H/T SuperBroMovies]