Much to the dismay of many fans that did not like Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Rian Johnson has confirmed that his planned Star Wars trilogy is still in the works, despite no announcements from LucasFilm or any set dates or timelines for his new galaxy adventure.
Johnson recently sat down for an interview with "USA Today" reporter Sariah Wilson and Wilson was the one that actually subsequently confirmed the news on her Twitter page based on her interview with the director. Wilson said there are "no dates or timelines because [Johnson] has other projects going on, but it's happening." You can check out Wilson's Twitter post below:
Johnson's Star Wars trilogy was first announced in 2017 when it was reported that he would be writing and directing the first of three Star Wars movies alongside Ram Bergman, his long-time collaborator who was also on board as a producer. The trilogy would "introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored." By 2018, Johnson said he was still in the early stages of development for the trilogy and he also admitted that he wouldn't let the fan outrage of The Last Jedi influence his vision for his planned trio of new stories. By 2020, many thought something more substantial would be announced at Disney's Investor Day but Johnson's name and any Star Wars-related projects by the director were noticeably absent from the announcements.
The fact that Johnson wants to take on Star Wars again should be seen as an act of bravery on his part. While critics fully embraced Star Wars: The Last Jedi with a 90% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the fan response was much more polarizing. The film currently sits with a dismal 40% audience score on the site and many fans held Johnson responsible for essentially destroying what Star Wars really was. I'm not a huge fan of the film but it has very little to do with the decisions Johnson made. I applaud him for attempting to do something different with the material but my issues were more with pacing and not connecting with the characters rather than big sweeping choices he made with the narrative. Perhaps Johnson working on his very own trilogy allows him a bit more creative freedom without any ties to the characters or lore that fans have come to know and love over the years.
Do YOU want to see Johnson's Star Wars trilogy happen?