Home Entertainment Rian Johnson confirms his Star Wars trilogy is still on and will look “beyond the legacy characters”

Rian Johnson confirms his Star Wars trilogy is still on and will look “beyond the legacy characters”

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This December will finally see the epic conclusion to the Skywalker story in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the third and final film in a trilogy of trilogies that have followed the story of Anakin, Luke and Leia and their interactions with a new generation of stars. It’s a journey that started way back in 1977 and has changed the world.

However, while Disney is looking to put an end to the Skywalker story in cinemas, they want to keep cashing in on what – Solo: A Star Wars Story aside – has been a very profitable franchise for them since they acquired it back in 2012. As a result, we are getting more trilogies coming our way: one from Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and the other from The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson. After the box office disappointment of last year’s Solo though – which gave an indication that audiences could be suffering from Star Wars fatigue – Disney decided to slow down on their movie roll-out. With that and only one Star Wars trilogy (believed to be that of Benioff and Weiss) on Disney’s release schedule, some believed that Johnson’s efforts got the chop, especially considering how divisive The Last Jedi was amongst some fans.

However, in a new interview with Observer, Johnson confirmed that his project is still on and is set to look beyond the legacy characters we have come to know and love, while still trying to be true to the original vision of George Lucas:

I think that the fun and challenging part of it is to dive in, figure out what’s exciting and then figure out what it’s going to be. We’re doing something that steps beyond the legacy characters. What does that look like? To me, the blue-sky element of it is what was most striking about it. I know the way that I’m coming at it and what’s fun about it for everyone in George Lucas’ films is figuring out, ‘what’s the next step?’ It really makes you think and figure out what the essence of Star Wars is for me and what that will look like moving forward.

Based on Johnson’s statement above though, it sounds like even he is not sure on what his own trilogy is going to be about yet, though that is easily just him being coy on the details to keep it a secret. However, with Benioff and Weiss’ trilogy confirmed to be hitting screens from 2022 to 2026 (alternating every other year with an Avatar trilogy) before Johnson’s films, he has a lot of time on his hands and so whatever ideas he has now is probably going to evolve substantially before then.

I’m a huge Star Wars fan and am excited to explore the world further with new characters. I do feel a little apprehensive in the way Disney is rushing so many stories at us though and hopefully allowing time for these new trilogies to come together results in deeper stories that can build new legacies, much the same way Lucas’ first movies did all those years back.

Last Updated: August 16, 2019

23 Comments

  1. Dr Webster Flexington

    August 16, 2019 at 14:13

    If you don’t mind Rian, please don’t. Please go and subvert expectations elsewhere, like in a live-action My little Pony movie. What Disney has done with Star Wars has been an utter travesty. They’ve managed to do something that I never thought could be possible, they’ve made Star Wars a worthless shadow of its former self.

    People aren’t even flocking to the Galazy Edge theme park (addition to Disneyland). Nor are kids buying the toys. Disney has even managed to kill Toys R Us. Can you freaking believe it?

    Reply

    • Dr Webster Flexington

      August 16, 2019 at 14:26

      Also, the rumours that the new movie will involve time-travel… sigh… Comeon Jar Jar Abrams… what is it with you and time-travel? I know Rian screwed the pooch, but TIME TRAVEL??? Please for the love of all that’s holy, let this rumour turn out to be false.

      Reply

      • Gustav Willem Diedericks

        August 16, 2019 at 14:26

        Yes please! We had enough of Social Justice Wars!

        Reply

      • Gustav Willem Diedericks

        August 16, 2019 at 14:26

        Yes please! We had enough of Social Justice Wars!

        Reply

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        August 16, 2019 at 14:32

        Hate to break it to you, but time travel is canon now.

        Reply

        • Dr Webster Flexington

          August 16, 2019 at 14:32

          Your face needs to travel back in time. 😉

          It’s just the laziest plot device ever – uuurrghh!!! (and I know it’s canon, I used to watch Star Wars Rebels)

          Reply

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            August 16, 2019 at 14:32

            I agree! No more wrinkles.

          • Dr Webster Flexington

            August 16, 2019 at 14:37

            The curious case of Trevor Button?

  2. For the Emperor!

    August 16, 2019 at 13:27

    I think Solo had less to do with fatigue and more with other stuff. We all (fans) want SW movies, we just want good ones without SJW and Virtua signalling kak messing it up. Also, very few wanted Solo, we wanted Obi-Wan, Darth Maul, Ahsoka etc!

    Also, Knights of the Old Republic has an awesome story that could make for a brilliant trilogy! Just not in his hands (nor D&D’s hands) please 🙂

    Reply

    • Dr Webster Flexington

      August 16, 2019 at 14:19

      At the end of the day, we just want great stories with relatable characters. I would have loved a movie based on Ahsoka. They could have just copy-and-pasted the storyline from Alita. I wouldn’t have minded, instead we got overpowered, “don’t need no training”, cardboard Rey and her merry band of budget-copies of the originals.

      Reply

      • For the Emperor!

        August 16, 2019 at 14:38

        I still have hope that more of Rey’s past gets revealed in the next one, explaining how/when she maybe was trained in her earlier years by someone. Or even if she is just the reincarnation of Vader…just give me SOMETHING!

        Reply

        • Gustav Willem Diedericks

          August 16, 2019 at 14:42

          Indeed. I believe that the whole franchise can redeem itself, but the next Star Wars movie is its last chance.

          Reply

        • Dr Webster Flexington

          August 16, 2019 at 14:42

          Since they’re throwing in time travel, it wouldn’t surprise me if it turns out she’s Darth Vader’s mother, or something equally JJ Abrams.

          At this stage, I just want a decent movie to eat popcorn to, forget the real world, all the real world nonsense, the politics etc. and lose myself in a world of fantasy.

          That’s the bare minimum I want… sigh!

          Reply

          • For the Emperor!

            August 16, 2019 at 14:42

            Escapism…all we want!

      • Gustav Willem Diedericks

        August 16, 2019 at 14:26

        If only they were budget-copies they would still have been somewhat relatable characters. What Jar-Jar Abrams and Re-Ann Johnson did to Star Wars and the weak, pathetic excuse of characters they created is an utter travesty.

        Reply

        • Dr Webster Flexington

          August 16, 2019 at 14:32

          Sigh, you’re right. I kind of wish they did more with Finn though, instead of just turning him into a comedic space janitor.

          Here we have a character that could have very interesting as he comes to terms with having been a part of a murderous regime, maybe having been involved in a few killings, and then trying to become a better person… and even failing, and maybe his path to redemption lay with Rose…or it made him even worse.

          The sheer possibilities with what Woke Wars COULD have been really pisses me off.

          Reply

          • Dr Webster Flexington

            August 16, 2019 at 14:32

            I really hate what the movie industry has become! It’s just pandering.. pandering.. pandering and more pandering….

          • Gustav Willem Diedericks

            August 16, 2019 at 14:32

            Indeed, dude. I feel you. It’s the same for me. Nothing good came with Disney acquiring so many movie houses.The whole landscape has changed and it feels like the golden days of cinema are gone.

          • Dr Webster Flexington

            August 16, 2019 at 14:37

            On the bright side, Disney is feeling the pinch, and I really hope they get dragged through the coals with a few extremely lean years.

            Maybe this will mean a few heads rolling, and Disney resetting its focus. I just can’t imagine another 20 -30 years of crap cinema, social pandering and live-action remakes.

          • For the Emperor!

            August 16, 2019 at 14:37

            Yeah, Rian really ruined Finn for me as well.

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