Rumor: Rian Johnson No Longer Allowed To Confirm He’s Working on a Star Wars Trilogy

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Sep 16, 2019

A new rumor suggests Disney told Rian Johnson he’s not allowed to confirm he’s working on a new Star Wars trilogy.

The rumor comes from WDW Pro on the WDW Magic Forums.

WDW Pro states:

“Rian Johnson was given official notice by Disney that he is no longer to confirm he is making any future trilogy or working on any future movies. He was given the ability to be ambiguous about it, but no more confirmations per Disney legal. Essentially, he’s a dead man walking when it comes to ever working with Star Wars again.”

The rumor surfaces about a week after Johnson started making the rounds in the press to promote his Knives Out film. Disney had previously announced Johnson would be working on a trilogy of Star Wars films just before The Last Jedi hit theaters. Johnson was expected to write and direct the first film in the trilogy with Ram Bergman. The trilogy was expected to “introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored.” (Related: 5 Reasons The Last Jedi Was The Worst Star Wars Movie Ever)

However, following the release of The Last Jedi and moviegoers’ reaction to the film, Disney and Lucasfilm have seemingly tempered their previous excitement for Johnson’s trilogy. Most recently Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy noted Game of Thrones writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss would be working with Johnson on Star Wars, “As they finish Game of Thrones, they’re going to segue into Star Wars. They’re working very closely with Rian.” (Related: Kathleen Kennedy: Star Wars to Map Out Next Decade of Storytelling with Rian Johnson and Game of Thrones Writers)

Benioff and Weiss were initially supposed to be working on their own separate series of film separate from Johnson. (Related: Disney Announces More Star Wars Films from Game of Thrones Creators)

However, Kennedy indicated they were also looking for new talent, “We have a series of filmmakers that we’re bringing into the fold, that we can start to look at as directing talent, and we’re trying to bring women into the mix as well.”

Disney did release that they have plans for Star Wars films through 2026. However, they only announced three plans. Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that first film would be from Game of Thrones creators Benioff and Weis:

“We did a deal with David Benioff and D.B Weiss, who are famous for Game Of Thrones, and the next movie that we release will be theirs. And we’re not saying anything more about that.”

Johnson has recently discussed his plans for Star Wars. In an interview with Uproxx earlier this month Johnson stated, “I’m where I can’t say anything about it. Still completely in process with it. “It’s just, I don’t know. “It’s a process” means it’s a process. So that means it could change, it could shift. There are a bunch of moving parts with it.” (Related: Rian Johnson Provides Update on His Star Wars Status)

He previously told The Observer in August:

“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 Lucasfilm 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.”

Deadline also reported earlier this month that Johnson and Bergman are “crafting a new film series set within the Star Wars universe, and those plans remain on the boards.”

Johnson had also previously addressed rumors in February that indicated he was no longer attached to the Star Wars trilogy saying, “No it isn’t true, I’m still working on the trilogy.”

However, the rumors persist and will more than likely continue until Disney makes another official statement concerning Johnson, his trilogy, and the future of Star Wars.

What do you make of this new rumor? Do you think Johnson might be out at Lucasfilm?

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