Rian Johnson Deflects Star Wars: Episode IX Rumors

In the wake of director Colin Trevorrow exitingStar Wars: Episode IX, many eyes turned to The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson to take the reins, having previously expressed enthusiasm at returning to the saga were the chance to arise. During a press event in Japan, Johnson directly addressed the rumors and, while not ruling out the idea completely, pointed out he’s currently not attached to direct the sequel. You can check out the full interview on YouTube.

“It was never in the plan for me to direct Episode IX, so I don’t know what’s going to happen with it,” Johnson revealed to the audience. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen with it. For me, I was entirely focused on Episode VIII and having this experience. Now, I’m just thinking about putting the movie out there and seeing how audiences respond to it. So, no, I’m not really thinking about that right now.”

Based specifically on these comments, the answer is quite vague, merely implying that three months away from his film’s release, he’s concentrating more on his excitement about that. Some of his additional comments, however, imply he might be willing to step away from the franchise for the time being.

“Whoever does it, I’m going to be really excited to be an audience member again and to sit down and see what the next filmmaker has to show us and where this story ends up going,” Johnson added.

Understandably, the lifelong fan of the saga would gladly take a brief respite from creating a new film so he could experience the joys of the film as a fan instead of as a filmmaker. One interesting claim in his comments is that he’s excited to see where the story “ends up going,” despite it being public knowledge that he collaborated with The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams and Trevorrow to develop the arc of the sequel trilogy, the implication being he’s well aware of where the saga is headed.

While the script might not be officially completed for Episode IX, it doesn’t sound like we should rule out Johnson for directing the project, even if he doesn’t write it himself.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens in theaters on Dec. 15, 2017.

via Star Wars Underground