Rian Johnson Star Wars Trilogy Canceled? Nope, He's "Still Working" on It

The director of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Rian Johnson, is still working on his own trilogy set in this saga far, far away. The filmmaker has debunked rumors surrounding his exit that began to surface online, saying it “isn’t true.”

On Wednesday, film website Super Bro Movies ran a story (now deleted) based on rumors from “multiple sources” that Johnson had exited from his role overseeing a new Star Wars trilogy separate from the “episodic Skywalker Saga.” The story proved to be false, with Johnson addressing it directly on Twitter.

“No it isn’t true, I’m still working on the trilogy,” Johnson said in a reply to a tweet. “With all due respect to the movie bros, who I’m sure are lovely kind bros with good fraternal intentions.”

Super Bro Movies, which described itself as “a young and growing site” in an apology, deleted the story and issued a statement explaining its reasons for running the story. Johnson responded: “No harm no foul at all guys, thanks. I think the rumor game makes fandom funner. 👊🏻”

Fan site Making Star Wars also confirmed that Johnson is still on board for his trilogy, with editor-in-chief Jason Ward writing:

“I spoke to several of my sources and it would be news to them if anything had changed at all. Some laughed. All said nothing has changed and all announced films are going forward as planned. I’m guessing we’ll get some updates at Star Wars Celebration in April about the timeline, or at least some hints.”

Had it been true, Johnson’s exit from Star Wars easily would have been the biggest movie news of the week. As the director of the polarizing 2017 installment, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Johnson has become a lightning rod for fans of the franchise who overwhelmingly disliked the film for reasons ranging from “bad storytelling” to having “an SJW agenda.”

Despite The Last Jedi raking in $1.32 billion at the box office and winning over critics (the film has a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes), some segments of Star Wars fandom continue to express aversion towards the filmmaker for his radical creative decisions. News of his “exit” would have been a big deal, but since Johnson isn’t going anywhere. Really, nothing at all has changed since the rumors came and swiftly died. There is, in essence, balance to the force.

Star Wars: Episode IX from director J.J. Abrams will be released on December 20.