Did Rian Johnson drop out of his ‘Star Wars’ trilogy? Here’s what he says

Feb 14, 2019

By Herb Scribner

Yes, Rian Johnson is still directing an upcoming “Star Wars” trilogy.

Johnson confirmed as much in a social media post on Thursday. A rumor from the website SuperBroMovies circulated online that Johnson had stepped away from his upcoming trilogy of “Star Wars” films.

But Johnson denied the rumors while also tweeting a well-placed dig at SuperBroMovies.

“No it isn’t true, I’m still working on the trilogy. With all due respect to the movie bros, who I’m sure are lovely kind bros with good fraternal intentions,” he wrote.

I refuse to believe you didn’t just make up “superbro movies”

— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) February 14, 2019

No it isn’t true, I’m still working on the trilogy. With all due respect to the movie bros, who I’m sure are lovely kind bros with good fraternal intentions.

— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) February 14, 2019

SuperBroMovies’ report suggested Johnson left the “Star Wars” franchise due to heavy fan backlash after he directed “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” according to ComicBook.com.

Flashback: Producer Ram Bergman said in an interview with From the Grapevine that the franchise will be “a completely new trilogy that writer-director Rian Johnson, my partner, is going to create. It’s all new characters. Everything is new.”

Flashback: Johnson last confirmed he was working on the trilogy back in September.

The first film in the trilogy could drop in theaters as early as 2020, according to Bergmann’s interview.

Context: Johnson stepping away because of fan backlash wouldn’t be surprising news. As CBR.com reported, “The Last Jedi” went through heavy scrutiny when it debuted in December 2017.

The film, which earned more than $1.3 billion in the U.S. and global box offices, has a 45 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes from audiences (critics gave it a 91 percent), which is the lowest of all “Star Wars” films except for the animated “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” from 2008.

Those against “Last Jedi” filed a petition to remove the film from the “Star Wars” canon.