The Last Jedi Director Rian Johnson Creating All-New Star Wars Trilogy

When it was announced that The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams would return to direct the final episode in the Skywalker saga and not The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson, many were left scratching their heads. After all, Abrams had already said that he wasn’t interested in directing another Star Wars movie and the word was that Johnson had created something truly special in Episode VIII. Little did we know, Lucasfilm has grander plans for Johnson than merely closing out the nine-episode saga; they want him to create an all-new trilogy!

Lucasfilm announced today that Johnson would be writing and directing the first movie in the new trilogy, which will “introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored.” Said Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm:

We all loved working with Rian on ‘The Last Jedi.’ He’s a creative force, and watching him craft ‘The Last Jedi’ from start to finish was one of the great joys of my career. Rian will do amazing things with the blank canvas of this new trilogy.

In response to the news being formally released, Johnson tweeted:

Obviously I hope you like The Last Jedi. But man now I REALLY hope you like The Last Jedi.

— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) November 9, 2017

The Last Jedi was written by Johnson and stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Joonas Suotamo, Adam Driver, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Andy Serkis, Benicio del Toro, Billie Lourd, Kelly Marie Tran, Gwendoline Christie and Laura Dern.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens December 15th.