Rian Johnson’s Star Wars trilogy has been officially put on hold by Lucasfilm. After Star Wars: The Force Awakens reintroduced the Star Wars universe to the big screen in 2015, Johnson’s eagerly awaited sequel, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, was released in 2017. While Lucasfilm has said nothing regarding the project, the lack of official updates has led some, notably The Last Jedi’s toughest critics, to suspect it has been shelved.
Following the success of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Johnson stated that he would be directing his own Star Wars trilogy in the future. There were no release dates specified for any of the films, but it was widely assumed at the time that the new Star Wars trilogy would go beyond the Skywalker saga to explore other parts of the Star Wars universe. Unconfirmed allegations have recently surfaced that Johnson’s Star Wars trilogy has been scrapped, although Johnson himself confirmed in February 2021 that the rumours are untrue and that his trilogy is still in development.
Johnson’s trilogy has been formally put on hold, according to a new story from Vanity Fair. Though it hasn’t been officially cancelled, Johnson’s trilogy is currently on hold — which is understandable given how busy he is with murder mysteries. Johnson’s commitments to the Knives Out franchise and the multi-picture deal he signed with Netflix last year reportedly prompted the move. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy announced the trilogy will be made in a wide-ranging new Vanity Fair story about the Star Wars franchise’s future. He said, “Rian has been unbelievably busy with Knives Out and the deal that he made at Netflix for multiple movies.”
Though Kennedy’s response implies that audience will not be seeing Johnson’s trilogy anytime soon, it does indicate that the trilogy has not been scrapped and that the films will be released at some point in the future. The news comes as a general Star Wars franchise roadmap for the next three years is released. The plans confirm that Lucasfilm’s immediate focus is on the Star Wars Disney+ TV programmes, at least for the time being.