Disney Announces New Star Wars Trilogy Directed By Rian Johnson

On Thursday, Disney announced that it plans to release a brand-new Star Wars trilogy once the current saga wraps up. It will have completely different characters, but will keep the same plot. The new trilogy will be directed by Rian Johnson, director of Episode VIII, The Last Jedi.

There has been no release date set but the movie will most likely come out sometime after 2020, since Episode IX is expected to premiere in theaters on December 20, 2019.

“Lucasfilm is excited to announce that Johnson will create a brand-new Star Wars trilogy, the first of which he is also set to write and direct, with longtime collaborator Ram Bergman onboard to produce,” Disney said in a statement.

“As writer-director of the ‘The Last Jedi,’ Johnson conceived and realized a powerful film of which Lucasfilm and Disney are immensely proud. In shepherding this new trilogy, which is separate from the episodic Skywalker saga, Johnson will introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored,” the statement said.

Alongside the trilogy, Lucasfilm is planning on unleashing a live-action Star Wars TV series, which will be a part of Disney’s new creation. Disney is developing a streaming service which has yet to be released. Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO, disclosed the plans during an earning’s call Thursday. Star Wars, alongside several other big name properties will be featured on the platform such Monsters Inc., High School Musical and its Marvel movies.

BAMTech, a video-streaming company, will run the platform. BAMTech was founded by Major League Baseball. Disney bought the digital media division over the summer for $1.58 billion.

During a joint interview, Johnson and Bergman said, “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.”

Producer Katherine Kennedy added, “We all loved working with Rian on ‘The Last Jedi’… 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.”