Rian Johnson Confirms His 'Star Wars' Trilogy Is Still In The Works
If you have been in the Star Wars fandom within the last few years, you are bound to be familiar with Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi. That film ended up being divisive among the fandom, but prior to its release, it became known that Rian Johnson would be developing a trilogy that would explore a part of Star Wars that had never been explored before. The details as to what this means have been unknown. We have heard Johnson say that it would not be Knights of the Old Republic. But beyond that, it is a complete question mark.
Since then, there have been shakeups in the development and releases for Star Wars films. David Benioff and DB Weiss parted ways with Star Wars a while after they were announced to have been attached to a film series. Whatever they were working on has never been described in official detail. What we do know for sure at the moment is that Patty Jenkins is working on a Rogue Squadron movie that is set to be released in December 2023. Other release date spots include December 2025 and December 2027, which some speculate are probably the Taika Waititi film and the Kevin Feige film respectively, since the former seems to be a bit further along in development than the Feige film, based on the Disney Investor Day presentation. Some speculate that Waititi's film could be set in the far-flung past, but this has not been outright confirmed.
With all of this happening, Lucasfilm and Disney have been quiet about the Rian Johnson trilogy. Some have even come to the conclusion that the trilogy has been cancelled after all these shakeups, and that it's perhaps being swept under the rug. However, we finally have an update, as USA Today bestselling author Seriah Wilson revealed on Twitter that she chatted online with Rian Johnson on Monday. Here are her words:
"I'm just going to post this now because I can see that I'm going to get a lot of requests -
Yes, Rian's SW trilogy is still on. No dates or timelines because he has other projects going on, but it is happening.
THAT IS ALL I KNOW ABOUT IT."
She also revealed the following tidbit regarding Rey and Kylo Ren's relationship:
"If anybody questions whether or not Reylo were meant to be romantic, you can stop speculating. Rian absolutely saw them as a romance."
It seems that the final film in the sequel trilogy may have been on the same wavelength at least in regards to this aspect of Rey and Kylo Ren's relationship. But all that aside, it looks like Rian Johnson's trilogy is not dead in the water. However, the years in which the films would be released is still an unknown. Lucasfilm and Disney have not revealed plans to release more Star Wars films in the years between the aforementioned ones, as the December release dates during the off-years are being reserved for the Avatar sequels. Unless Star Wars films end up being released in different months during those years, it seems possible that the Rian Johnson trilogy might not come out until the late 2020s/early 2030s, assuming that the Waititi and Feige films come first.
The possible timeframe for the trilogy's release is all speculation, of course. Whenever the Rian Johnson trilogy comes out, it feels like it is a long way away. In the meantime, Rian Johnson is working on a sequel to his hit whodunnit film Knives Out, so he is still keeping busy.
Source(s): The Direct