Rian Johnson says his 'Star Wars' trilogy IS happening

Rian Johnson, writer/director of the film "Knives Out," poses for a portrait at the St. Regis Hotel during the Toronto International Film Festival, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019, in Toronto. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Rian Johnson (Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Earlier this month, The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson cast doubt on whether he'd be working on a new Star Wars trilogy for Lucasfilm.

It was officially announced by StarWars.com in 2017 that Johnson would be working up three new films, which would potentially follow the current trilogy.

But things went a bit quiet after that.

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And then it was announced that Game of Thrones showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff were also working on their own separate trilogy, meaning that another six films could potentially be in the offing.

To add yet further confusion, Johnson himself seemed to be unsure of what was going on when asked about it earlier this month.

He told BANG Showbiz: “We’ll see. I am still talking to Lucasfilm and they are figuring out what they are doing. We’ll see what happens. I’ll be thrilled if it happens. I am working on my own stuff, too.”

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Credit: Lucasfilm/Disney)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Credit: Lucasfilm/Disney)

The comments led to many reckoning that the Johnson trilogy was now off the table.

However, he's now said that he misspoke.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, he said: “Did I say 'if'? Oh god.

“I have no update at all. But I'm still working with Lucasfilm on it, and they're figuring out when they do what and everything.”

While still vague, it's slightly less vague than the 'thrilled if it happens' remark, so we will have to wait and see what happens.

While Johnson and the Game of Thrones duo working in the Star Wars universe was all officially announced, a timetable was not, so it's not known whose three movies would be happening first.

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Or if they'd potentially intersect somehow.

But whatever the case, Disney CEO Bob Iger's recent comments about how he regrets having released too much Star Wars content too soon appear to be somewhat redundant.

Aside from the forthcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the last in the current trilogy, there's also the Mandalorian series happening on new Disney streaming platform Disney+, set to be unveiled on November 12 in the US.

There's also a spin-off series based on Diego Luna's Rogue One character Cassian Andor in development too, along with a potential six more movies from Johnson, Weiss and Benioff.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker lands in the UK on December 19.