‘The Last Jedi’ Director Rian Johnson Isn’t Working on the Script for ‘Episode 9’
We were really excited when we heard that Rian Johnson would not only be directing Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but had also signed on to write a treatment for Episode IX. He’s definitely accomplished the first thing, but unfortunately, he confirmed that he would no longer be working on the script for the final Star Wars movie.
When a fan tweeted at him a couple days ago asking if the plan that had been announced back in 2014 was still in motion, Johnson denied it.
Before, the case was that Johnson would write a treatment that would act as the foundation for Colin Trevorrow (who is directing Episode IX) and screenwriter Derek Connolly to then build a script from, but now it looks like Trevorrow and Connolly are working on it on their own. It’s pretty crummy news, since Johnson created Brick and Looper, which are two beautifully intricate stories, and Trevorrow and Connolly worked together on Safety Not Guaranteed, which is fine at best, and Jurassic World, which involves a character running through a muddy jungle in heels because apparently that’s somehow empowering.
I doubt that this has anything to do with any bad blood between Johnson and the studio, or Johnson and Trevorrow. Since Carrie Fisher’s death, Lucasfilm has been scrambling to reformat their plans for Episode IX, and likely Johnson, exhausted from helming a giant franchise movie, just didn’t feel like sticking around to deal with this. I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole Lucasfilm Story Group was called in for the fix.
Episode IX is Trevorrow and Connolly’s boat now, so let’s hope they can end the new trilogy the way it deserves. And we have The Last Jedi to look forward to in a few short months.