Kathleen Kennedy Says That Rian Johnson Is Still Deeply Involved In The Star Wars Franchise

Sure, Star Wars: The Last Jedi might have been nothing short of a critical and commercial success, but the film also ended up being one of the most divisive entries in the Star Wars saga. Though the film has quite a number of fans, a vocal minority continue to express their outrage over the film, complaining about how the film subverted fan expectations and supposedly wasted legacy characters like Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).

Despite complaints about the film, The Last Jedi managed to take the Star Wars franchise to a new direction and Lucasfilm has given director Rian Johnson his own trilogy after the current set of Star Wars films.

Speaking with fans during Star Wars: Rise of the Skywalker at the 2019 Star Wars Celebration in Chicago, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy gave updates on the studio's plans after the release of the third and final sequel trilogy installment. While the Star Wars film franchise is going to take some time off, Kennedy says that she and her team are planning a decade more of Star Wars. Not only is she meeting with Game of Thrones showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff soon, but she also assures fans that Rian Johnson's trilogy is still a sure go.

"Rian Johnson is also deeply engaged in what we're doing," the Lucasfilm executive says.

While The Rise of Skywalker might serve as the culmination of the Skywalker Saga, Kennedy promises fans that it's not going to be the end of the franchise.

"I'm sitting down now with Dan Weiss and David Benioff...and Rian Johnson. We're all sitting down to talk about, where do we go next? We've all had conversations about what the possibilities might be, but now we're locking it down," says Kennedy.

It looks like there's a lot to look forward to after The Rise of the Skywalker.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker premieres on December 20, 2019.

Read: Disney+ To Feature The Entire Star Wars Franchise Including Rise of Skywalker