Most Divisive Star Wars Director Hopes For Franchise Return

The Star Wars sequel trilogy is a divisive part of the franchise, marking the start of a new direction under Disney for George Lucas’s universe. Each film received a different reaction, but Star Wars: The Last Jedi particularly sparked strong opinions from viewers.

I was reading an interview with Rian Johnson, the director of The Last Jedi, and they asked him if he’d ever consider directing another Star Wars movie. He basically said the idea will always be in the back of his mind – he really loves Star Wars! But he also made it clear that he’d only come back if it felt right for everyone involved, and would be an amazing experience if it did happen.

The eighth film in the series earned over $1.3 billion worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing movie in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Star Wars: The Force Awakens earned $2.07 billion, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker made $1.07 billion; both of these films were directed by J.J. Abrams.

On November 9, 2017, the official Star Wars website announced that Rian Johnson would write and direct a new trilogy of films, just weeks before the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. At the time, there were no scheduled release dates for these new movies, but it signaled a continuing relationship between Johnson and the Star Wars universe.

When Rian Johnson’s involvement with Star Wars was first announced, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy praised his work on The Last Jedi, calling him a creative talent and saying it was a highlight of her career. She expressed confidence he would do great things with a new trilogy. Unfortunately, those plans for a trilogy never materialized.

Rian Johnson, the director of Knives Out, told Rolling Stone in July 2025 that plans for a trilogy were dropped. This happened after the initial film – a murder mystery starring Daniel Craig – proved successful and evolved into a continuing series of movies. Johnson explained that he and producer Ram Bergman had discussed a trilogy extensively, but those plans didn’t move forward.

It didn’t really go anywhere, but we all enjoyed working together and there was talk of continuing the project. I was enthusiastic about that. I spent some time brainstorming with Kathy, and then the opportunity to make Knives Out came along. That project really took off, and I found myself busy creating murder mystery films. I’d definitely be open to revisiting the idea or working on something else within the Star Wars universe in the future, but right now I’m focused on my own projects and very content.

Even though he’s not currently planning to work on Star Wars movies, several new films are already being developed. One of these, The Mandalorian & Grogu directed by Jon Favreau, is scheduled for release on May 22, 2026, and will bring Pedro Pascal back as Din Djarin in a theatrical movie after starring in the Disney+ series for several years.

Shawn Levy is currently directing a new Star Wars film, Starfighter, starring Ryan Gosling, which is scheduled for release on May 28, 2027. Lucasfilm is also developing a Star Wars trilogy from Simon Kinberg, James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi project, and a film centered around Rey Skywalker directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

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2025-10-23 19:31