It looks like Lucafilm had bigger plans for Rian Johnson than just directing Star Wars: Episode 9. The studio has announced Johnson is now developing a brand new Star Wars trilogy separate from the main saga.
It’s possible this could be an original venture. Another possibility is that this will be taking cues from Tales of The Jedi/Knights of The Old Republic, set over a thousand years before the prequels giving Johnson and the studio free reign to create something fresh for fandom that isn’t directly connected to saga when all the anthology films are poised to fill gaps between episodes.
Anyway, this is huge news for fans that are getting tied of Lucasfilm not crafting new eras, stories and oiginal characters moving away from saga.
The studio has yet to announce dates for these three films but I’m sure this could be mapped-out in the coming months or even at Star Wars Celebration next year. Johnson is set to direct the first film in this new trilogy, it’s possible it could be ready for release sometime in 2021-2022.
Here is the full press release via Lucasfilm.
For director Rian Johnson, Star Wars: The Last Jedi was just the beginning of his journey in a galaxy far, far away.
Lucasfilm is excited to announce that Johnson will create a brand-new Star Wars trilogy, the first of which he is also set to write and direct, with longtime collaborator Ram Bergman onboard to produce.
As writer-director of The Last Jedi, Johnson conceived and realized a powerful film of which Lucasfilm and Disney are immensely proud. In shepherding this new trilogy, which is separate from the episodic Skywalker saga, Johnson will introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored.
“We all loved working with Rian on The Last Jedi,” said Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm. “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.”
“We had the time of our lives collaborating with Lucasfilm and Disney on The Last Jedi,” Johnson and Bergman said in a joint statement. “Star Wars is the greatest modern mythology and we feel very lucky to have contributed to it. We can’t wait to continue with this new series of films.”
Johnson’s upcoming Star Wars: The Last Jedi arrives in U.S. theaters on Dec. 15, 2017.
No release dates have been set for the new films, and no porgs were available for comment.
SOURCE: LUCASFILM