Rian Johnson Trilogy To Transcend Existing Star Wars Saga

After a few rounds of “will he or won’t he” and “is it cancelled or not” it seems that the Rian Johnson trilogy of Star Wars films is still very much on. As with the planned Benioff & Weiss trilogy, the sky is the limit as far as subject material. The galaxy far, far away is a big place, after all. One thing that’s likely going to drive both trilogies?  The ability to focus on characters and story lines apart from the existing Skywalker saga. In a recent interview, Johnson confirmed that he’s going to do just that.

The director recently spoke to The Observer about his upcoming film Knives Out…. But of course the subject of the Rian Johnson trilogy of Star Wars films made its way into the discussion. Rian Johnson spoke excitedly about the endeavor, noting the freedom from constraint he’ll have with the project.

Rian Johnson trilogy will transcend existing Star Wars

“I think that the fun and challenging part of it is to dive in, figure out what’s exciting and then figure out what it’s going to be,” Johnson told The Observer.  He continued, noting the clean slate upon which the Johnson trilogy will be drawn:

We’re doing something that steps beyond the legacy characters. What does that look like? To me, the blue sky element of it is what was most striking about it. I know the way that I’m coming at it and what’s fun about it for everyone in Lucasfilm is figuring out, ‘what’s the next step?’ It really makes you think and figure out what the essence of Star Wars is for me and what that will look like moving forward.”

Johnson earned a fair degree of infamy and notoriety with his handling of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Chief among that film’s criticisms was Johnson’s treatment of the core, original trilogy Star Wars characters. Many fans complained about Johnson handled Luke Skywalker, specifically, and their expectations for the classic character. With the new Johnson trilogy, however, the director is no longer burdened with such expectations.

The Benioff & Weiss trilogy hits theaters December, 2022. There’s still no word on when the Johnson trilogy will premier.