Rian Johnson Got “Spooked” by ‘Last Jedi’ Backlash & Quit Planned Star Wars Trilogy

As reported in November, Rian Johnson’s much-reported “Star Wars” trilogy is officially not happening. The ‘Knives Out’ filmmaker, who previously directed 2017’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” told THR that, regarding the once-announced trilogy, “that plan is effectively dead.”

Johnson’s ‘The Last Jedi,’ the second chapter in the most recent trilogy, pissed off plenty of longtime fans—some to the point of vowing to never watch another “Star Wars” movie again. Many hardcores abandoned the franchise entirely because of what Johnson did.

Johnson has insisted for many years now that the reason he never came back to direct another Star Wars movie was due to his busy schedule, which, quite frankly, made sense given that he has helmed three ‘Knives Out’ movies in the last six years. However, it turns out his failure to return might have had more to do with other factors.

Now, as she exits Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy tells Deadline that Johnson’s long-promised trilogy didn’t just drift because of time and scheduling; she also believes the backlash he received for ‘The Last Jedi’ scared him off.

“I do believe he got spooked by the online negativity. I think Rian made one of the best Star Wars movies. He’s a brilliant filmmaker, and he got spooked. This is the rough part. When people come into this space, I have every filmmaker and actor say to me, ‘What’s going to happen?’ They’re a little scared.”

For a large portion of the “Star Wars” fanbase, ‘The Last Jedi’ crossed a line they never believed the series would approach. Johnson’s bold subversions—Luke Skywalker rejecting the Jedi legacy, the handling of Rey’s parentage, the treatment of legacy characters, and the film’s apparent dismissal of long-held lore—felt to some like a betrayal rather than a reinvention.

Johnson’s decision not to make his trilogy of films at Lucasfilm makes sense on a purely mental health level. Why would he ever want to go through all that madness again?