The Last Jedi isn’t out for another month, but this bodes well for the film’s quality: Lucasfilm announced today that Episode VIII director Rian Johnson will helm a new Star Wars trilogy, “the first of which he is also set to write and direct, with longtime collaborator Ram Bergman onboard to produce.”
For the first time in the franchise’s episodic history (i.e. not Rogue One or Solo), the new trilogy won’t focus on the Skywalker family. “Johnson will introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored,” according to the official Star Wars website.
“We all loved working with Rian on The Last Jedi,” said Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy in a statement. “He’s a creative force, and watching him craft The Last Jedi from start to finish was one of the great joys of my career. Rian will do amazing things with the blank canvas of this new trilogy.” Johnson and Bergman added, “We had the time of our lives collaborating with Lucasfilm and Disney on The Last Jedi. Star Wars is the greatest modern mythology and we feel very lucky to have contributed to it. We can’t wait to continue with this new series of films.” No release dates have been set.
The big news here is obviously no more Skywalkers and the return of Rian Johnson, but the statement left out the most important detail: will all the movies focus on Watto and his junk shop, or just Episode X?
(Via Star Wars)