The following article combines hard reporting and statements from Vanity Fair and The Direct with unconfirmed rumor from our sources for That Park Place. Please note that conclusions drawn from this article amount to speculation and should be understood as such.
Head of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy, has just confirmed that Rian Johnson’s Star Wars trilogy promised to him after The Last Jedi is “no longer under active development.” According to our sources, it has not been in active development for years, may have never been in active development beyond Rian Johnson’s own efforts, and is not under “non-active development” either. In essence, the trilogy is dead. It could be resurrected at some point but you have to be dead to be resurrected.
According to The Direct, reporting on The Vanity Fair photo shoot and accompanying article:
Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy revealed the previously announced Star Wars trilogy from The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson has not been canceled, as rumored. However, its status is now being described as “back-burnered” by Vanity Fair’s Lucasfilm report, meaning that its development is not as active as it once was.
“Rian has been unbelievably busy with Knives Out and the deal that he made at Netflix for multiple movies.”
— Kathleen Kennedy
Rian Johnson’s #StarWars trilogy is no longer in active development, confirms Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy: “Rian has been unbelievably busy with #KnivesOut…” Full quote: https://t.co/Aw04U9tuHa pic.twitter.com/FNLRZc9V3t
— Star Wars – The Direct (@StarWars_Direct) May 17, 2022
There will doubtlessly be plenty of defense coming out of the media that specializes in such things. Those who have assured us The Last Jedi was fabulously popular will find ways to explain how Knives Out is a far more enticing intellectual property that just prevents Johnson from working on the Star Wars franchise. Don’t believe your lying eyes, eh?
For any of you shocked.. shocked… that Rian Johnson’s trilogy would not even be on the horizon, just consider this hard statistic that shows what happened to Star Wars after The Last Jedi:
The Force Awakens Domestic Physical Media Sales: $191,090,513
The Last Jedi Domestic Physical Media Sales: $102,130,464
Why did half the audience decide not to get a DVD or Blu-Ray? Streaming wasn’t a big deal yet, right? Right???
I wonder how bad the Disney+ numbers are for The Last Jedi?
Maybe it’s not so shocking after all.
For all the news that will help you not be shocked regarding entertainment, keep reading That Park Place. Drop a comment down below and let us know if you’re just devestated we won’t get a new Canto Bight trilogy.
And yet the people that fought fans, pushed the lie that TLJ was popular, and pushed “The Message” are still at Lucasfilm. Until there’s major personnel changes, Star Wars won’t really begin to recover.
Why would they announce a dead project? Hint: It wasn’t dead. Or they are just trying to torment Original Trilogy fans. LucasFilms has done nothing to improve prospects for Sequel Trilogy series or movies. Disney+ has been doing OT era series with horrible results. Even Original Trilogy can be killed. Boba Fett was so bad, I couldn’t get beyond Episode 4. Rest In Peace Star Wars.
Oh, I was around. I was in college and I went to each Prequel on opening day. I then remember watching Red Letter Media lambast it, but Star Wars was not “dead”. Never was it proclaimed, and LucasArts continued to release hit after hit of games.
I think we all knew that Rian’s Trilogy was canned. The other interesting tidbit in that interview was the Acolyte being written but, not casted. Why announce that it hasn’t been casted? My cynicism say’s that KK is trying to create hype for the show so that it gets funded.
In Hollywood, nothing is ever truly dead, and nothing is ever truly guaranteed until cameras are rolling (and even then….).
Kathy Kennedy answered the question the way any executive would answer: nugget of truth wrapped in tons of flattery.
“The back burner” is crowded with film projects that will never be produced.
What’s actually remarkable is what has totally flown under the radar:
Lucasfilm’s hiatus from Features is now shaping up to be many years longer than initially planned.
When KK announced the hiatus, she discussed it lasting 2-3 years, meaning a new movie in 2022. That was extended to 2023 when Rogue Squadron was announced.
Rogue Squadron is, of course, on hold, and there is nothing really in the pipeline.
Unless something were fast tracked (which is unlikely), we’re looking at 2024 or 2025 as the earliest we’d see SW back on the big screen.