Rian Johnson to Write And Direct Stars Wars VIII And IX?

Disney is clearly not messing about with bringing the new Star Wars franchise to life. With JJ Abrams currently deep into production on Episode VII LucasFilm and Disney have turned to Looper and Brick director Rian Johnson to write and direct the next TWO instalments in the franchise. While the rumour has not been confirmed at this point Johnson did post the below video from The Right Stuff on his Twitter feed (WARNING: Contains swearing). It certainly lends credence to the rumour.

But is Rian Johnson the right man to carry the Star Wars baton? In simple terms he’s certainly a hugely talented filmmaker with his debut Brick being nothing shy of a piece of noirish teen brilliance, his follow-up The Brothers Bloom being an inventive and funny caper and Looper arguably beating a path of the resurgence in the time travel genre which was cemented this summer with Tom Cruise’s Edge Of Tomorrow. The only down side to Johnson dedicating so much time to Star Wars is we’ll miss out on one of Hollywood’s genuinely original and inventive filmmakers. It’s akin to a young James Cameron focusing solely on The Terminator franchise for the better part of a decade.

That said, Disney are putting together a hugely impressive roster for their Star Wars films and spin-offs with Abrams a perfect fit to reinvigorate the franchise like he did with Star Trek and filmmakers like Godzilla’s Gareth Edwards and Chronicle’s Josh Trank both slated for spin-off movies. Source – Deadline