Rian Johnson, the filmmaker behind the Daniel Craig-led mystery trilogy Knives Out, has severed his connection with the Force, announcing that his long-gestating Star Wars trilogy is no more.
This news comes via an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, where the 51-year-old reflected on his career over the years, such as his work on the 2023 drama Poker Face, this year’s Knives Out instalment, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, and notably, the middle instalment in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, 2017’s The Last Jedi, which was one of the franchise’s most divisive films.
Despite mixed fan reaction, the film was still successful at the box office, as Johnson was reportedly asked to work on the next movie, to which he “politely declined”. The filmmaker didn’t give up on the sci-fi franchise entirely, however, as he signed on to helm a new Star Wars trilogy that same year, one that was reported to be disconnected from the Skywalker saga.
And while a fresh take on the iconic film series unburdened by past expectations does sound intriguing, this was one galactic undertaking that wasn’t meant to be, as Johnson’s project reportedly never moved past the conceptual stage, with the filmmaker instead stepping away to focus on the next instalments in the Knives Out series. Now, Johnson has come forward to confirm what fans have known for a long time now – his Star Wars trilogy is officially dead.
“A part of my brain will always be in Star Wars,” he told The Hollywood Reporter, claiming that while the trilogy was “effectively dead”, this didn’t mean that he was completely saying goodbye to the franchise, “It’s so much a part of me and the way I think.”
While Johnson’s involvement in the franchise remains up in the air (or rather, in space), the Star Wars journey is far from over, as Jon Favreau’s spin-off movie The Mandalorian & Grogu, based on the hit Disney+ series, is set to hit theatres on 21 May 2026, which will be followed by Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter, set to star Ryan Gosling (Barbie), in May 2027.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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