Rian Johnson's planned Star Wars movie trilogy has reportedly been shelved due to creative differences with Lucasfilm. In November 2017, one month before Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi hit theaters, the studio announced the director would oversee an entirely new film trilogy set in the Star Wars galaxy. While the project was green lit without a full story pitch, the idea was it would be entirely separate from the Skywalker saga, exploring new characters and locations to further flesh out the franchise's canon. Over the past four years, there's been very little progress made on Johnson's trilogy.
Fueled in part by divisive reactions to The Last Jedi, there have been numerous rumors that the project has been cancelled. However, as recently as February 2021, Johnson assured his Star Wars trilogy is still in development. He chalked up the lack of concrete updates to his busy schedule. All's been quiet on the Johnson trilogy front since, and it could be because it's actually not happening anymore.
Matthew Beloni's newsletter for Puck (hat tip Den of Geek) details Lucasfilm's issues with creative differences with filmmakers, sparked by Patty Jenkins' Rogue Squadron movie being delayed. Beloni writes about the status of other Star Wars projects, noting similar incidents happened with David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, and even Johnson:
“It also happened to Rian Johnson, whose own planned trilogy was shelved.”
Unlike other creatives Lucasfilm had a falling out with, Johnson had experience with both the studio and the Star Wars franchise. In the lead-up to The Last Jedi, Johnson spoke openly about the creative freedom he had, and his trilogy pitch indicated he was excited to continue working with Lucasfilm. It's interesting that creative differences would occur with him, especially since it seemed like Johnson was on the same page as the higher-ups. Of course, specific details about his trilogy's narrative were never revealed, so it's possible he and Lucasfilm had contrasting ideas for what they wanted the series to accomplish. Lucasfilm does have a number of Star Wars projects in development across multiple mediums; perhaps Johnson's pitch didn't align with other areas of canon. Hopefully one day further details are revealed.
After The Last Jedi, Johnson wrote and directed acclaimed whodunnit Knives Out, earning himself an Oscar nomination in the process. Johnson has since signed a very lucrative deal with Netflix to produce two Knives Out sequels, the first of which shot earlier this year. In all likelihood, he will continue to find success with or without Star Wars. His trilogy being shelved spells more trouble for Lucasfilm. It's another project officially announced that never came into fruition, which is a recurring problem at the studio. Also, as divisive as The Last Jedi was, Johnson is still a unique voice known for thinking outside-the-box with his filmmaking. As Star Wars looks to move beyond the Skywalker saga, having someone like him in-house would be beneficial.
Source: Puck (via Den of Geek)