Everything We Know About Rian Johnson’s New Star Wars Trilogy

As the net reel from the news thatThe Last JedidirectorRian Johnson will be helm an all newStar Warstrilogy , we ’re take aim a looking at at everything we know so far about the latest task set within the galaxy far , far forth . Lucasfilm ’s announcement comes as a major surprisal , specially on the heel of reports thatJohnson flex down the opportunity to directEpisode 9after Colin Trevorrow was let go . He was widely take in as the frontrunner for the gig , seeing as he was the man in charge ofEpisode 8 . And while it was n’t a major shock that JJ Abrams ended up stepping up to the plate , many wondered if there was more to it than the fact that Johnson simply would n’t have fourth dimension to get quick for the early 2018 starting line date following the coming press tourThe Last Jedi . Any disconfirming connection that fans may have take away from Johnsonnotbeing hired to directEpisode 9 - - Lucasfilm not being impressed with his work onThe Last Jedi ; Johnson not enjoying his fourth dimension work in theStar Warsuniverse ; etc – can now be safely dispelled with today ’s news show , however . There is n’t a shot in hell that Lucasfilm would pull to charter him to helm a whole new trilogy if they were n’t impressed with his body of work , which is just one more reason to be mad about this latest development ( as if you needed another ) .

Related:New Star Wars Trilogy Being Directed by Rian Johnson

Today ’s declaration was n’t fabulously detailed , and you’re able to bet that Lucasfilm phrase their crush dismissal very carefully , as to not give away the farm right out of the gate . That being said , there ’s more than a few key extract here that are deserving a close look . Most notably , the special attention that was pay to the most celebrated family unit in theStar Warsuniverse .

Sorry, Skywalker clan: this is not the trilogy you’re looking for

Perhaps the self-aggrandising ( and most obvious ) takeaway from today ’s news is that Rian Johnson ’s new trilogy"is separate from the episodic Skywalker saga . “While this does n’t completely govern out the possibility that some fellow member of the Skywalker kindred could find themselves involved in the legal proceeding , it ’s a practical certainty that they wo n’t seem . Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has tell on legion occasions that the series will eventually move on fromStar Wars ' first house , and this new trilogy is an excellent clock time to do just that .

If the higher ups decide that they care to continue the Skywalker saga , they could always vagabond out more episodes of the main serial . But Lucasfilm would be wise to heed the wishing of the fanbase , many of whom have been calling for the franchise to take advantage of its expansive world bymoving forth from Luke , Leia , and co.and sharpen on new lineament and scope . For now , it feels like a good stakes that Johnson ’s moving picture will be Skywalker - innocent .

Blank canvas=more creative freedom

Here ’s a particularly uncover extract from today ’s press release:“Johnson will put in new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explore . “Kathleen Kennedy also stated that the director would be exercise with " a blank canvas . " So not only will this trilogy move on from the Skywalker saga , but it will star a grouping of entirely unfamiliar faces likeThe Force Awakensdid with Rey , Finn , and Poe … right ?

That depends on your interpretation of"lore " , really . Does that only capsulise the universe ’s vainglorious screen adventures , or does it flourish to the characters and storylines seen in the Expanded Universe / Legends ? Really , the diction used in the press announcement feel like more of an attempt to make it clear that a ) this will be a fresh new take on theStar Warsuniverse , something that moviegoer have n’t seen before , and b ) Rian Johnson is going to get to room somewhat freely ( at least by Disney / Lucasfilm banner ) in one of the most grand grit boxes in fiction .

Johnson is only confirmed as writer/director for one film

Rian Johnson ’s name was splashed all over today ’s news show , and the way of life things were demonstrate , it would be easy to take the air by thinking that he ’ll be writing and directing the entire trilogy . The jam button does specifically expend the words " the first of which he is also do to write and direct . " That may seem like an unimportant tidbit , but return theamount of managing director turnover in theStar Warsuniverse as of late , itcouldbe an indicator that Disney and Lucasfilm are taking steps to keep their options open – and in a agency that does n’t make them face quite asrigid as they have in recent months .

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Releasing a new entry in a trilogy every two twelvemonth ( something we have a bun in the oven Disney to do ; more on that in a bit ) is a tall project for a single film director , especially afford how much pre and post - production prison term goes into makingStar Warsmovies . Johnson only being confirmed to helm the first entry dedicate Lucasfilm tractableness to take another music director for the 2nd or third entries if need be . And , should their partnership with Johnson go south at any point after the release of the trilogy ’s first entry , they can just bring in new blood without coming off poorly in the insistency .

Johnson ’s longtime confederate Ram Bergman will dish up as manufacturer .

When it will be released

To be clear , the press release explicitly states that"no freeing dates have been pose for the new motion picture . “Even so , the Lucasfilm machine does n’t just announce young movies without a programme in place , so you’re able to bet the house that they have their eye on a few option weekend over the coming age to lie claim to .

We bring a elaborate dive into the release date possibilities in an earlier article , so be sure to train that out for specifics , but our effective guess is that the first entry in Johnson ’s serial publication will arrive in 2021 , with the sequels being drift out every two years after that . ( Note : the guestimate is based entirely on Lucasfilm ’s late history of release date maneuverings and the current schedule ofStar Warsfilms . ) Unless there ’s a plan in office torelease multipleStar Warsmovies a class , 2021 is the earliest we can look to see the new trilogy .

The porgs were suspiciously tight-lipped

After confirming that the new trilogy is without a set release date , the imperativeness release jestingly resolve with " no porgs were usable for scuttlebutt . "

Man , they ’re going to be pushing the blaze out of these thing for the next few calendar week . finger get across that you savvy these furry small penguin / puffin / seals , because you ’re going to be seeing an dreadful circumstances of them .