Star Wars: Rian Johnson Not Interested in Directing an Obi-Wan Movie

Hitting theaters this May is Solo: A Star Wars Story, which features a young Han Solo earning his reputation as one of the best smugglers in the galaxy. The idea of one character getting a standalone movie has excited fans, with many hoping that Obi-Wan Kenobi could get an entire film to explore his adventures. Despite his interest in watching a film like that, The Last Jedi writer/director has no interest in making the movie.

“In seeing it? Sure, I’ll watch that movie in a heartbeat,” Johnson recently shared at a Q&A when asked if he’d be interested in an Obi-Wan Kenobi film. “Right now, I’m just focused on the new trilogy. Isn’t that enough? God, man, I’d love to see that movie.”

Prior to the release of The Last Jedi, Lucasfilm announced Johnson would help develop a new trilogy of films unrelated to the Skywalker Saga, so it makes sense that the filmmaker has his sights set on brand-new adventures.

While he might not be interested in filming an entire movie about the character, Johnson did address the idea of potentially incorporating Obi-Wan’s Force ghost in his movie, but the passing of Sir Alec Guinness made that an impossibility.

“There wasn’t because the one opportunity for a Force presence to come in and talk to Luke is in that scene and it just made all the sense in the world to me, for so many reasons, for it to be Yoda,” Johnson revealed of whether there was any discussion of bringing in Obi-Wan or Anakin. “If Alec Guinness were still around, it would’ve made sense for it to be Kenobi. I love Ewan’s [McGregor] Kenobi so much but the Luke that we know here never knew that version of Ben so it would feel weird to have that version talking to him.”

Not only would there have been narrative complications, but Johnson pointed out there was a tonal purpose for Yoda to appear.

“In the context of this story where the whole thing is sort of a version of Dagobah, ya know, in a certain way,” Johnson noted. “Kind of the thing we were handed is Rey going up and finding the master in the remote location and expecting training, it’s a very conscious echoing of that whole sequence from Empire [Strikes Back]. It just, to me, was kind of a no-brainer that it would then be Yoda that would appear at the end of it and drop some truth on Luke.”

McGregor, who played the character in the prequel films, shared earlier this year that he’d happily reprise the role.

“I’d be happy to play him again,” McGregor shared. “I don’t know any more about it more than you do. I saw the new one over Christmas. I thought it was really, really beautiful. I loved it.”

Johnson’s The Last Jedi is in theaters now. There has been no word yet on the release dates for Johnson’s new trilogy of films.

[H/T Collider]