Star Wars boss cuts future films, admits 'MISTAKE': Bad news for Rian Johnson trilogy?

In December last year the Star Wars francise was on top of the world. 

Then the Last Jedi unexpectedly divided fans and lead to a backlash and boycott which stunned observers and was followed by the unprecedented faiure of Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Since then, rumours have swirled around the future of Star Wars, as Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy and Last Jedi director Rian Johnson became the focus of a very vocal rebellion.

Suddenly all the expected next phase Star Wars movies like the Obi-wan Kenobi and Boba Fett standalones, the Solo sequel and Johnson’s much-heralded spin-off trilogy, fell into doubt. 

Bob Iger has yet again just been voted the most powerful figure in Hollywood, unsurprising since the Disney CEO oversees Lucasfilm, Marvel and the Disney and PIXAR studios.

A major new interview today in the Hollywood Reporter reveals how much has suddenly changed for the future of Star Wars.

Iger said: “You can expect some slowdown… We are just at the point where we’re gonna start making decisions about what comes next after JJ’s (Star Wars Episode 9). But I think we’re gonna be a little bit more careful about volume and timing.”

What is perhaps telling is that when he does discuss what is coming next, he makes no mention of the Rian Johnson project. Is Disney cutting back and cutting some Star Wars plans?

Iger added: “That doesn’t mean we’re not gonna make films. JJ [Abrams] is busy making [Episode] IX. We have creative entities, including [Game of Thrones creators David] Benioff and [D.B.] Weiss, who are developing sagas of their own, which we haven’t been specific about.”

It may be an oversight not to mention the equally significant Johnson trilogy, but it seems unlikely. There are currently only two future Star Wars trilogies that have been publicly discussed, why mention one and not the other?

Especially when there has been such focus of Johnson’s troubled dynamic with some of the fanbase and the constant attention to his proposed movies.

This is framed as a casual conversation, but every word will have been carefully considered.

In answer to the constant speculation, Johnson recented tweeted again that his trilogy was still underway.

It seems likely that Disney will keep monitoring the situation and perhaps not even make some major decisions until after Episode 9 is released.

With the imminent launch of the new Disney streaming platform next year, it is also expected that some pending projects like the Obi-wan spin-off could be turned into a streamed movie or even a mini-series. Variety reported this week that Marvel potentially will be doing the same with Loki and Scarlet Witch projects.

FULL STORY IN THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER