There's Still Hope For Rian Johnson's Star Wars Trilogy

It's been five years since Rian Johnson's inaugural "Star Wars" movie "The Last Jedi" hit theaters and emotionally divided the community. A lot has happened since then (a statement that holds true even if everything outside of "Star Wars" is ignored). J.J. Abrams' Episode IX, "The Rise of Skywalker," dropped, completing the third trilogy, "The Mandalorian" cemented Disney+ as a juggernaut streaming service, and "Obi-Wan Kenobi" proved that the internet is always ready to accept a redemption arc for a person they totally and unitedly trashed decades prior. Sorry, Hayden Christensen — you deserved better.  

This and more has kept "Stars Wars" a busy universe, so it is perhaps understandable for anyone to have forgotten that, once upon a time, Johnson agreed to create an original trilogy of films to exist within the greater umbrella of storytelling. Don't worry, though; Johnson himself hasn't forgotten. As part of a recent interview in regards to the fifth anniversary of "The Last Jedi," Johnson hinted at what fans should expect. 

In an interview with Empire Online, Rian Johnson confided that he still fully intends to create more "Star Wars" films, as was once announced many years ago. He said, "I've stayed close to Kathleen [Kennedy] and we get together often and talk about it. It's just at this point a matter of schedule and when it can happen. It would break my heart if I were finished, if I couldn't get back in that sandbox at some point." For those who are unfamiliar, Kathleen Kennedy is the current president of Lucasfilm. If anyone had the authority to provide Johnson access to a galaxy far, far away, it would be her. 

For her part, it doesn't seem to be press pandering, either. In another interview with Empire at Star Wars Celebration, Kennedy said, "Now, everybody's so busy — genuinely busy and working on things. Rian had such a gigantic success with Knives Out that he's very committed to try and get that done. So it'll be a while. And we have to work three, five years in advance on what we're doing. So that's where that sits. But we love him."

In short, both parties seem eager for further collaborations; it's only that Johnson is currently wrapped up in "Knives Out," which, honestly, deserves a fair spell beneath the public spotlight. Until such a time as Johnson has completed both of his "Knives Out" sequels for Netflix (one of which releases later this year), "Star Wars" will continue to sit on his back burner.