The past few years have been very exciting for filmmaker Rian Johnson. He was given the golden ticket to sci-fi with the chance to helm Star Wars: The Last Jedi, making a ton of risky changes to the canon in the process. Lucasfilm appreciated his vision enough to grant the filmmaker his own trilogy of upcoming Star Wars flicks, but not before he brought his murder mystery movie Knives Out to life. Johnson recently explained his upcoming schedule, and when he might return to the galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will end the nine-film narrative that began with A New Hope, so the Star Wars franchise will soon go into uncharted territory. The future seems to be in the hands of Game of Thrones creators DB Weiss and David Benioff and Rian Johnself, as two separate series of films will be developed. The timing is what seems to be unclear, even for Johnson himself. As he recently explained:
The truth is they’re still figuring out their schedule, their game plan, so if it’s possible for me to squeeze in another film before or while working on that, I will.
Well, that's intriguing. Knives Out has gotten some excitement and positive attention from its early debut at TIFF 2019, and we might be getting another Rian Johnson original before kicks it to lightspeed and returns George Lucas' colorful space world.
Rian Johnson's comments to Evening Standard may illicit a mixture of emotions from moviegoers. While some cinephiles are eager to see what unique stories the filmmaker could bring to theaters, The Force is strong with the Star Wars fandom. And those generations of fans will want more Star Wars content sooner rather than later, especially with The Rise of Skywalker arriving so soon.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is perhaps the most divisive film in the long-standing franchise, with Rian Johnson taking plenty of risks and creative liberties with the beloved space opera. He purposefully subverted fan expectations, especially when it came to long theorized plot points like Supreme Leader Snoke and Rey's parentage. He also granted Leia a deeper connection with The Force, manifesting in her controversial float through space.
Related: Rian Johnson Explains Why He Took So Many Risks In The Last Jedi
Rian Johnson has a clear love for the Star Wars franchise, and his type of storytelling might translate especially well to stories outside of the Skywalker Saga. This gives him the creative freedom to tell new stories, without facing backlash from fans who had been waiting decades, and therefore have sky high expectations.
For now the fans will have to focus on the upcoming release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which sees J.J. Abrams returning to the director's seat to wrap up the current sequel. The pressure is on, as it is truly the end of an era.
Rian Johnson's Knives Out will hit theaters November 27, and The Rise of Skywalker follows on December 20. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
