Last Jedi director to helm new Star Wars trilogy

When Colin Trevorrow was booted off Star Wars: Episode IX, a lot of people were surprised that Last Jedi director Rian Johnson wasn’t hired as his replacement. It turns out Lucasfilm has even bigger plans for Mr. Johnson, though.

Lucasfilm announced on Thursday that Johnson would helm a new Star Wars trilogy that would be “separate from the episodic Skywalker saga.” Johnson will write and direct the first entry in this trilogy with Ram Bergman producing.

“We all loved working with Rian on The Last Jedi,” said Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy. “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.”

“We had the time of our lives collaborating with Lucasfilm and Disney on The Last Jedi,” Johnson and Bergman said. “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.”

Variety additionally reported that a liver-action Star Wars television series is in the works and will premiere on Disney’s new streaming service, which is set to launch by the end of 2019.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits theaters on December 15, 2017.