Nearly a decade after it was first announced, Rian Johnson‘s long-in-development Star Wars trilogy has been permanently grounded. The director confirmed that his plans were “effectively dead” during a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter in which he addressed his desire to still work within a galaxy far, far away after helming the massively divisive Star Wars: The Last Jedi in 2017. It ends what’s been a winding saga filled with delays and speculation as he turned his attention towards completing his Knives Out trilogy at Netflix. However, he wanted to emphasize that, while he never got to create the intergalactic stories he wanted, he’s not ready to shut the door on the franchise for good.
“A part of my brain will always be in Star Wars,” he said in the interview. “It’s so much a part of me and the way I think.” Johnson has long been vocal about his deep passion for the franchise and desire to create something new within that universe, even if his lone film, with a sense of humor that rubbed some fans the wrong way and a contentious approach to Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), wasn’t exactly what audiences were looking for. Back in May, he said he’d be “the happiest person” if he ever got to direct another Star Wars movie, though he admitted that his desire to build a new franchise, namely Knives Out, ultimately kept that from happening. That still worked out quite well for him in the end, earning a lucrative deal at Netflix to create two new Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) mysteries that have been showered with critical acclaim.
Johnson will always divide Star Wars fans, though his trilogy had the potential to bring something fresh to the franchise, following characters never seen before in an entirely new setting within the same universe. For what it’s worth, the director also maintained a positive relationship with Lucasfilm throughout the process, which could mean a return sometime down the road. His plans were, however, in the chaotic shuffle with no shortage of other feature projects ordered after the advent of 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker that are in various stages of fizzling out or coming to fruition, like Shawn Levy‘s upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter with Ryan Gosling. Next on the docket is Jon Favreau‘s The Mandalorian & Grogu, coming to theaters on May 22, 2026, and featuring Pedro Pascal reprising his role as Din Djarin from the small screen.
What’s Next for Rian Johnson?
Johnson isn’t exactly wanting for work despite the death of his Star Wars trilogy. The third film in his Knives Out series, Wake Up Dead Man, releases in theaters next week on November 26 and arrives on Netflix soon after on December 12, complete with another star-studded ensemble around Craig and a glittering 95% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Although he’s complete with the murder mystery trilogy for now, Johnson is keen on potentially making more stories with Blanc down the line if the demand is still there. For now, his next focus is a new “paranoid thriller” that may harken back to his high-concept sci-fi original projects like Looper. There’s also the matter of Poker Face, which was cancelled after Season 2 on Peacock and is now being shopped around with the intent of introducing a new Charlie Cale to take the lie-detecting lead from Natasha Lyonne — Peter Dinklage.
via Collider