Those that pay attention to these kinds of things might be forgiven for having the view that Lucasfilm – under the command of Kathleen Kennedy – has a problem playing well with filmmakers. The relaunch of the Star Wars franchise was, at first, filled with excitement and plans for an Anthology movie by Chronicle director Josh Trank – but he unexpectedly departed the project in its early stages. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, meanwhile, – though ultimately well-received – was fraught with tales of director Gareth Edwards being sidelined for reshoots and post-production.
Most recently, Phil Lord and Chris Miller were fired from Solo: A Star Wars Story halfway through principal photography, and Colin Trevorrow parted ways with Star Wars: Episode IV amid rumours of discord between himself and senior Lucasfilm figures. Star Wars: The Last Jedi filmmaker Rian Johnson is here to demonstrate a different scenario, though, having given an interview to IGN in which he explained how he came to have the opportunity to develop an entirely new Star Wars trilogy, once The Last Jedi is released.
Specifically, it was recently announced that Johnson would remain with the Star Wars saga post-The Last Jedi to create an entirely new set of stories featuring original characters and plot threads, while being set in the same universe as the main Skywalker-based tale. These films will be distinct from the Anthology ones, which are essentially standalone chapters that connect to the core storyline. According to Rian Johnson, this turn of events resulted from all involved with The Last Jedi simply having found it to have been a very positive experience.
“Right now there’s all the freedom in the world. That’s the whole thing that’s exciting to me is let’s go some new places, let’s meet some new folks, let’s see what else is out there. Let’s have one story told over three films in this galaxy with no limitations. It’s pretty exciting.”
Continuing on, he said:
“We all just had a really good time working together. I know for us, that was a big part of it. We were getting to the end of it and Kathy Kennedy and Bob Iger and Alan Horn, Alan Berkman, all the folks at Disney, we were just sad that this was coming to an end. We were like, ‘How do we figure out some way to keep working together?’ That’s when I pitched the idea of a new trilogy with a new story. That seemed really exciting for me.”
Timing, it seems, is everything, and the stars in that galaxy far, far away have aligned in such a way as to afford Rian Johnson the chance to craft a brand new science fiction epic, built on the foundation of one of the most recognizable film brands in history. While the main story of Star Wars is undoubtedly beloved among cinema audiences, it will be deeply refreshing to see a talented storyteller deliver something that’s unhindered by the weight of expectation that routinely accompanies the Skywalker saga.