In fact, we haven’t believed for a long time that “The Last Jedi” director Rian Johnson will release his planned “Star Wars’ trilogy will actually be implemented. At the end of 2017, just before Episode 8 was released, Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy announced that Johnson would be allowed to shoot his own three related films. But five years later, nothing has happened in that direction. Rian Johnson, meanwhile, with “Knives Out” created his own promising film universe and found another industry giant in Netflix as a partner, while over his “Star Wars’ trilogy has always been a big question mark.
On the one hand, it seems counterintuitive that Rian Johnson should shoot three more films for the saga, since at least a very vocal part of the fans rejects him so vehemently because of “The Last Jedi”. On the other hand, the project has never been officially canceled in all these years. Now Rian Johnson has again assured: Yes, he plans to continue with his “Star Wars”-Trilogy. In an interview with Empire he explained:
“I remain in close contact with Kathleen [Kennedy]. We often meet and talk about it. At this point, it’s just a matter of timing, when it can happen.”
In recent years, Rian Johnson has been particularly popular with his “Knives Out“-Movies busy. The Firstborn “Knives Out – Mord ist Familiensache” was released in German cinemas in early 2020 and gave the whodunit genre known through Agatha Christie adaptations such as “Mord im Orient-Express” a modern touch. He then struck a deal with Netflix to direct two sequels to the crime series. The first of these is called “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” and premieres on Netflix on December 23, 2022. It will probably be at least two more years before Part 3 appears, especially since Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out“-Movies always gather a massive line-up of stars whose individual schedules first have to be coordinated.
So Rian Johnson won’t have time for “Star Wars” to have. But the course could already be set for the director to “Knives Out 3” his “Star Wars“ trilogy. That’s what Kathleen told Kennedy Empire at this year’s Star Wars Celebration: “Everyone is so busy right now […] Rian had a gigantic hit with ‘Knives Out’. He’s very committed to it and trying to get it done. So it will take a while. And we have to plan what we’re going to do three to five years in advance. That’s the current status. But we love it.”
Despite all the delays and the sometimes very harsh criticism of Rian Johnson’s “Star Wars’ debut, the new trilogy still seems to be on Lucasfilm’s agenda. Should Johnson immediately after “Knives Out 3” directly to work on a new “Star Wars”-movie, but this would probably be released in 2027 at the earliest.
Rian Johnson also has a small remaining doubt: “It would break my heart if I went with [‚Star Wars‘] would be through if I didn’t get into this [Welt] should return.”
