Star Wars to create all-new trilogy of movies directed by The Last Jedi's Rian Johnson

Disney has revealed plans for a brand new trilogy of Star Wars movies from the writer-director of The Last Jedi, Rian Johnson.

The set of films will feature totally new characters in “a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored”.

“We all loved working with Rian on The Last Jedi,” said president of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy.

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“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 joked on Twitter once the news was confirmed that an awful lot more was now riding on his upcoming movie, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi.

https://twitter.com/rianjohnson/status/928756341908430848

Johnson's longtime collaborator Ram Bergman will produce the new trilogy of films, which will be separate from the main 'Skywalker saga' begun by George Lucas.

American director Johnson's debut feature film Brick won a special award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, and since then he has directed films including Looper and several episodes of TV series Breaking Bad.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is set for release in cinemas this December, but no dates have been set for the new trilogy at this stage.