The director still hopes to return to that galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson is currently busy with the Knives Out franchise, but his heart is still set on eventually returning to Star Wars to work on his previously-announced trilogy.
Speaking to Empire, Johnson said he'd be heartbroken if his time working in the Star Wars universe was done.
“I’ve stayed close to [Lucasfilm's] Kathleen [Kennedy] and we get together often and talk about it,” Johnson said. “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.”
Every Upcoming Star Wars Movie and TV Show
Johnson's Star Wars trilogy was first announced back in November 2017, a month before his Star Wars directorial debut, The Last Jedi, came to theaters. At the time, the trilogy was set to “introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored.”
However, after the mixed reception to the sequel trilogy as a whole, Lucasfilm pivoted its strategy for Star Wars from trilogies to “persistent storytelling,” which we've seen through the Star Wars Disney+ series like The Mandalorian, Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the upcoming Andor.
The Johnson-led trilogy then sat on the backburner for a few years, with Johnson becoming busy with the Knives Out franchise and Star Wars focusing on its slate of upcoming series. Earlier this year, Kennedy confirmed the trilogy was on hold, citing Johnson's Knives Out deal with Netflix.
For more on Star Wars, check out Johnson's comments about how he's “even more proud” of The Last Jedi than he was at release. Or, check out our list of every upcoming Star Wars movie and TV series.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, Lifewire, and more. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant, where he's probably pleading for an F-Zero revival.