- Rian Johnson, the director of the upcoming film "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," will be creating a new "Star Wars" film trilogy, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced Thursday.
- Johnson will write and direct the new trilogy, which does not yet have a time of estimated release.
- Iger also announced that a new "Star Wars" TV series set for 2019 will appear on Disney's forthcoming streaming service.
Rian Johnson, the writer and director of the upcoming film "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," will be creating an entirely new "Star Wars" film trilogy, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced in an earnings call on Thursday, according to Variety.
Johnson will write and direct the new trilogy, while his longtime collaborator Ram Bergman will produce the films.
Iger also announced that Disney will launch a live-action "Star Wars" TV series on its streaming service, which is expected to debut in 2019.
In stark contrast to Lucasfilms president Kathleen Kennedy's decision to fire directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord from an upcoming Han Solo film (now titled "Solo: A Star Wars Story"), and replace them with Ron Howard in June, Kennedy called Johnson a "creative force" in a statement on Thursday.
"We all loved working with Rian on 'The Last Jedi,'" Kennedy said. "He's a creative force, and watching him craft 'The Last Jedi' from start to finish was one of the great joys of my career. Rian will do amazing things with the blank canvas of this new trilogy."
Johnson and Bergman have issued the following joint statement on the news:
"We had the time of our lives collaborating with Lucasfilm and Disney on 'The Last Jedi.' 'Star Wars' is the greatest modern mythology and we feel very lucky to have contributed to it. We can't wait to continue with this new series of films."
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" opens in theaters on December 15.
No release or production date has been set yet for Johnson's new "Star Wars" trilogy.
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