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Star Wars 9 treatment no longer written by Rian Johnson

Rian Johnson directing Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Credit: Lucasfilm
Rian Johnson directing Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Credit: Lucasfilm

Rian Johnson is no longer involved with ‘Star Wars 9’.

The ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ director was originally supposed to provide the treatment for the upcoming ‘Star Wars 9’. At least, that’s what was officially announced back in 2014, with director Colin Trevorrow and screenwriter Derek Connolly building upon Johnson’s outline.

But now it looks as though his involvement ends with ‘Star Wars 8’.

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And it’s even been confirmed by the man himself.

Approached by a fan on Twitter, he was asked whether he was still involved with the ‘story treatment’ for the sequel to ‘The Last Jedi’. But he quickly denied it, stating that it’s just ‘old info’.

What does this mean for ‘Star Wars 9’?

Well, it looks as though Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly will be taking on the script without any input from Rian Johnson. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sure, it would have been interesting to see the creative threads of one filmmaker across both ‘The Last Jedi’ and its sequel… but perhaps Disney and Lucasfilm would rather a fresh approach.

Still, it’s interesting that Rian Johnson won’t get to make his mark on the following movie… especially as ‘Star Wars 7’ director J.J. Abrams was given the opportunity to do so on ‘Star Wars 8’.

Carrie Fisher and Rian Johnson on the set of ‘The Last Jedi’ (Photo: Lucasfilm)
Carrie Fisher and Rian Johnson on the set of ‘The Last Jedi’ (Photo: Lucasfilm)

“There were a handful of things we talked about that were going to be helpful to him, said Abrams in an interview with Slashfilm. “Some were very easy to do, and some things were things that I didn’t want to do for other reasons, but I tried to be as accommodating as I could. And its so cool to see what happens next in a way that only someone as talented as Rian could do.”

Still, ‘Star Wars 9’ will roll on, with or without Rian Johnson.

I just can’t help thinking his involvement could have provided some rather neat cohesion between ‘The Last Jedi’ and its trilogy-ending follow-up.

‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ will star Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher.

Rian Johnson both wrote and directed the movie.

‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ heads to cinemas on 15 December 2017.

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