Has Rian Johnson bailed on his plans to write and direct an all-newStar Warstrilogy outside of the Skywalker saga? A rumor spread quick like wildfire across Twitter tonight that he’d bailed on his post at Lucasfilm. But before the news got too out of control with tweets and retweets from “insiders” who love to think they’re “hearing rumblings,” Rian Johnson jumped in to end all the speculation, targeting the source of the leak in his response.
“No it isn’t true, I’m still working on the trilogy. With all due respect to the movie bros, who I’m sure are lovely kind bros with good fraternal intentions.”
More than a year after its release,The Last Jediremains the most divisive movie in the entireStar Warsfranchise. Just as many love it as hate it, but the people complaining have been the loudest. And they have not kept quiet about their desire to see Johnson’s planned trilogy, which would focus around never-before-seen characters, crash and burn. Those outspoken individuals thought they’d finally gotten their wish tonight. Though Rian Johnson’s exit was being heavily rumored, it still has not come to pass.
Word shot across social media faster than normal thatRian Johnsonwas leaving Lucasfilm. This vast universe in a galaxy far, far away is once again said to be in flux, as fans anxiously await a title reveal forStar Wars 9, with a trailer rumored to drop at this year’sStar Wars Celebrationin April. No one at Disney or Lucasfilm have confirmed any solid plans for what the future holds afterStar Wars 9, only announcing secretive trilogies, and canceling any planned standalone movies.
Those behind this rumor simply stated that Johnson had walked away from the franchise completely with noting else to back up their claim, or a reason for his departure. This wouldn’t have been the first time that Lucasfilm kicked someone to the curb. Chris Miller and Phil Lord were famously fired fromSolo, andColin Trevorrow had Star Wars 9 ripped out from underneath him. if this latest rumor had turned out to be true, it’s more likely that we would have actually heard word about it directly from Lucasfilm or Disney themselves.
It was announced thatRian Johnson was directing an all-new Star Wars trilogybeforethe Last Jedihit theaters in December 2017. But that movie tore fans down the middle, splitting an already fractured fanbase.The Last Jedididn’t bomb at theaters. It was a hugely successful sequel, turning $1 billion in profits while dominating the home video charts. Though, fan reaction was all over the charts, and many took to social media to air their grievances. Youtube channels devoted to tearing down the new Lucasfilm regime led by Kathleen Kennedy sprouted up, giving birth to The Fandom Menace, with some of its biggest supporters being Geeks & Gamers, alongside the lesser known Comic Arts Pro Secrets. Those that love the film went on about their business, and did not devote hours to heaping praise upon it. Which resulted in any admiration for the sequel getting drowned out by all the hateful noise.
The biggest complaints lobbed at the film were thepoor treatment of Luke Skywalker, something even Mark Hamill seemed to agree with. Snoke’s death has been a major point of contention. And the constant trashing of Rose Tico caused actress Kelly Marie Tran to feel personally attacked, causing her to leave social media, deleting her accounts in the wave of backlash.
Rian Johnson hasn’t actually been devoting much time to the trilogy since he finally gotThe Last Jediinto theaters. He instead decided to write and direct a murder mystery thriller calledKnives Out, which has wrapped and is in post-production, and will be in theaters towards the end of this year. The movie has Johnson returning to his noir roots, and it’s been compared to his first movieBrick. He lined up an impress ensemble cast that includes James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, Captain America actor Chris Evans, Lakieth Stanfield, andHalloweenscream queen Jamie Lee Curtis.
TheStar Warsfranchise will definitely continue into the future.Star Wars 9will be in theaters this December, bringing the Skywalker saga to a close. D.B. Weiss and David Benioff are making an all-new trilogy. And Jon Favreau is the ringleader on the first-ever live-actionStar WarsTV show called TheMandelorian, which is being created for Disney+ streaming. It will be followed by aRogue Oneprequel revolving around Cassian Andor. Now it sounds like Rian Johnson’s trilogy will continue chugging along too. This rumor first sprouted up at Superbromovies. Rian Johnson later clarified the fake news on his Twitter.
