Rian Johnson Divulges the “Big Questions” He Aims to Explore in New ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy

Following the successful collaboration between The Last Jedi writer/director Rian Johnson and Lucasfilm, the studio invited the filmmaker to craft a new trilogy of films that won’t be connected to the Skywalker Saga. With much of the focus of Johnson being directed towards his last journey to a galaxy far, far away, little is known about his plans for his new trilogy. While Johnson only confirmed he is in the early stages of developing the story, he did confirm some of the bigger thematic elements he hopes to explore with the films.

“It’s fun because it’s kind of thinking, ‘Okay, outside of the Skywalker story and outside of the recognizable iconography, what is this? What is Star Wars?’ Or what do we need to retain from that, to pull forward for it to still be Star Wars — and what can we leave behind?” Johnson shared with the L.A. Times. “They’re all the big questions that need to be thought of. And even the ones that we don’t know the answers to are things we need to figure out if Star Wars is going to be vital and alive moving forward and not just be a waxworks. We’re going to have to figure out how to tell vital new stories.”

Prior to Disney purchasing Lucasfilm, a variety of novels, comic books, and video games explored characters unrelated to those featured in the films. Most of the stories being told in the years since have had some connection to familiar characters and settings, with all films somehow connecting to important events in the saga.

Sadly, Johnson received his fair share of backlash following the release of The Last Jedi, as it broke free from expected tropes within the Star Wars storyline. The filmmaker expressed how vital these changes are to keep audiences excited about the future.

“When people ask me, ‘Don’t you think people are going to get sick of Star Wars movies?’ to me that question indicates that they’re thinking of Star Wars movies as a museum exhibit that is wheeled out once a year so you can say, ‘Oh, I loved that thing. Oh, I remember that thing!’ And yes, if Star Wars is that, people are going to get sick of it really quickly,” Johnson confessed. “But if Star Wars are great new movies that are exciting and fresh, and that challenge you and surprise you and make you feel things and engage you the way that those original movies did — but always taking you to new places, both in the galaxy and emotionally — that’s never going to get old. That’s what it’s all about.”

Fans will likely have to wait until at least 2020 for Johnson’s new films, as Episode IX is slated to hit theaters on December 20, 2019.

Are you looking forward to Johnson’s all-new adventures in the Star Wars galaxy? Let us know in the comments below!

[H/T L.A. Times]