Although The Last Jedi is widely regarded as one of the most controversial Skywalker saga films within the Star Wars fandom, critics surprisingly rank it as the fourth-best Star Wars movie, at least according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Film critics said it took risks, it reshaped familiar characters, and it made Luke Skywalker human, though even Mark Hamill might disagree with that last assessment. Despite the movie’s ambition and strong backing from Lucasfilm at the time, director Rian Johnson’s follow-up trilogy never happened.
Now, thanks to a new Johnson sit down with Rolling Stone, we finally know why.
“Nothing really happened with it,” Johnson said, according to an Entertainment Weekly article about the interview. While Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy initially offered Johnson the opportunity to helm a new trilogy after The Last Jedi, things quickly stalled.
“It was all very conceptual,” he explained. “We had a great time working together, and they said, ‘Let’s keep doing it.’ I said, ‘Great!’ I would kick ideas around with Kathy.”
However, that early collaboration never grew beyond conversations. There were no scripts about “broom boy,” no storyboards – just vague concepts.
So, what happened exactly?
The short answer is Knives Out. Johnson’s shock hit murder mystery starring Daniel Craig launched an entirely new phase of his career, one that ultimately pulled him out of the galaxy far, far away. In the years since The Last Jedi hit theaters in 2017, Johnson has directed Knives Out (2019), its Netflix sequel Glass Onion, and created Poker Face, a detective procedural series with Natasha Lyonne in the lead role. His creative energy found a new lane, and he’s very happily cruising in it.
“If, down the line, there’s an opportunity to do it, or do something else in Star Wars, I would be thrilled,” Johnson said. “But right now I’m just doing my own stuff, and pretty happy.”
For the faction of fans who hoped to see Johnson’s deeper dive into the Star Wars mythos, this news might be a hard pill to swallow, but he also didn’t totally close the door on his potential return.
Frankly, Lucasfilm’s movie slate is anything but settled, so anything could happen. After years of canceled or shelved projects, 2026 is expected to bring The Mandalorian & Grogu to theaters in May, followed by Star Wars: Starfighter in 2027. The latter is a standalone film from Shawn Levy starring Ryan Gosling and Mia Goth. Finally, a new trilogy is rumored to be in development from longtime X-Men writer and producer Simon Kinberg, though concrete details remain scarce.
Johnson has also reflected on the fan backlash to The Last Jedi, suggesting that time has already softened some edges. “I was in college when the prequels came out,” he said. “My friends and I were Prequel Hate Central… Now the prequels are embraced.”
That same cycle of rejection and reclamation could eventually extend to The Last Jedi. And if it does, Johnson’s trilogy might get resurrected yet.
For now, however, the knives are out, just not in space.
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