Rian Johnson’s new trilogy working to discover the essence of Star Wars

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

What is it that makes STAR WARS? Is it the space battles? The lightsaber duels? The mythology of the Force? Whatever it is, it's something that Rian Johnson is hoping to explore in his new STAR WARS trilogy. Shortly before the release of STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI, Lucasfilm decided to give Johnson free rein to craft an entirely new STAR WARS trilogy which would be separate from the Skywalker saga and introduce "new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored." It's an exciting concept, and Rian Johnson recently spoke with IGN to explain how he's approaching development on the new trilogy.

We're just at the very beginning of figuring out what this new thing is going to be, but part of the excitement of it is really trying to hone in on 'what is Star Wars?' What was Star Wars for me the very first time I saw it when I was a little kid? What are the combination of elements that just made me want to jump into the screen, and made me want to go home and instantly start telling my own stories?

There's nothing quite like being thrown into a franchise like STAR WARS for the very first time, but when you strip away all of the recognizable elements such as the Skywalker family, the Empire, and the Rebel Alliance, how do you make it feel like STAR WARS? "Once you get past the things that are the iconography of Star Wars – once you say, okay, if it doesn't have the Falcon; if it doesn't have someone with Skywalker as their last name; if we don't go to Tatooine, what is it?" Johnson questioned. "What is it at its essence? It's a really exciting question, and I think it's something that has to be answered at some point. So let's figure it out." Even the existing spin-off movies, such as ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY and SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY, are simply telling new stories involving characters or events we already know about, so the thought of a new STAR WARS trilogy which is just that, new, is something very intriguing.

As Rian Johnson said, the new trilogy is still in the very early stages, but we still have plenty of other STAR WARS movies to keep us busy over the next few years, including SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY on May 25, 2018 and STAR WARS: EPISODE IX on December 20, 2019.