Rian Johnson will not direct Episode IX, reveals The Last Jedi is about complete…
Just a few days after being crowned the frontrunner to direct Star Wars: Episode IX, Rian denied that he was not in the running to direct the sequel to Episode VIII. A few days later Lucasfilm announced via StarWars.com that J.J. Abrams will write and direct the sequel finale.
A YouTube video has surfaced of Johnson dropping more details for The Last Jedi.
Johnson is more than just versatile in his writing and directing skills, showing off his fluency in the Japanese language, which he eloquently displayed at the beginning of an interview, at an event in Tokyo, Japan this past week.
“I have it on my phone, should we all just watch it right now?,” joked an easy going and relaxed Rian Johnson, to a crowd of rowdy Star Wars fans. Johnson then sat down and discussed The Last Jedi, among other things, stating that the final product is close to being completed:
"We are almost, almost, almost done. We have just a few more days of work, but basically the movie is finished and now we just wait."
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Much like The Empire Strikes Back in the Original Trilogy, we are in for that big time, epic reveal. Johnson has also said over and over again, specifically to followers of his Twitter account, that The Last Jedi will not be a copy and rehash of Episode IV.
"It was very gratifying for me that Mark and Daisy and the whole rest of the cast were very shocked by some of the things that happened in the script. You always want it to be an emotional story that makes sense, that surprising things happen naturally, I hope those are the kind of things that make the audiences gasp when they see this movie."
Johnson also revealed these details during the event:
- His long time friend Joseph Gordon-Levitt has a cameo voicing an alien.
- Kylo Ren is fascinating and a layered character with many weaknesses, which he shows the “chinks in Kylo’s armor” throughout the film.
- He will answer why Luke Skywalker is in hiding, specifically exile, and what events lead him to the desolate island.
Next: Video: Mark Hamill displays lightsaber training from The Last Jedi
The Last Jedi hits theaters this December 15th, which cannot arrive soon enough.