Lucasfilm Is "Still Figuring Out" Its 'Star Wars' Schedule, So Rian Johnson May Be Able To Make Another Original Movie Before His New Trilogy

Earlier this summer, Lucasfilm announced that three new as-yet-untitled Star Wars films will be released every other year starting in 2022. And while we can speculate about what exactly those movies will be, the company has still not officially revealed which films are going to be taking those slots.

In a new interview, Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson says Lucasfilm is "still figuring out" its game plan, and he leaves the door open for the possibility that he might be able to make another original movie before filming begins on the first entry in his upcoming Star Wars trilogy.

Speaking with UK publication The Standard (via The Playlist), Johnson spoke briefly about Lucasfilm's plans after this December's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker:

"The truth is they're still figuring out their schedule, their game plan, so if it's possible for me to squeeze in another film before or while working on that, I will."

As a massive, massive fan of not only Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but the rest Johnson's filmography, I'm thrilled at the possibility that we could get another movie from him before he gets inundated with Star Wars. Don't get me wrong: I'm also very much looking forward to what he does with a wholly separate story in a galaxy far, far away, but Johnson has a perfect track record in my mind, so another movie from him as soon as possible is a best-case scenario. (Could it be a Knives Out follow-up, reteaming him with Daniel Craig as soon as Craig finishes shooting the new Bond movie?)

Reading between the lines of his comment raises some interesting questions about Lucasfilm's future plans for Star Wars, though. He recently explained that he's "still completely in process with" his first spin-off movie, pointing out that "it could change, it could shift" at any time. At the time, it was unclear if he was referring to the plot or the schedule, but I suppose now it could be either one; Lucasfilm appears to still be in flux with choosing which movies to assign to the dates it has already flagged, and Johnson is so early on in the writing process that several key details could evolve or be excised at will.

Johnson's newest film, the Agatha Christie-inspired murder mystery Knives Out, is currently sitting at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, and has earned rave reviews since its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival – including high marks from /Film's Chris Evangelista, who called it the most entertaining movie of the entire festival.