Star Wars: Disney announces new trilogy

It will be set in a different corner of the universe to the original saga

Disney has entrusted The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson with a brand new Star Wars trilogy.

"As writer-director of The Last Jedi, Johnson conceived and realized a powerful film of which Lucasfilm and Disney are immensely proud," it announced through StarWars.com following Disney chief Bob Iger's Q4 2017 earnings briefing.

"In shepherding this new trilogy, which is separate from the episodic Skywalker saga, Johnson will introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored."

There are no further details or scheduled release dates at this stage, but the news suggests major confidence in Johnson and his upcoming sequel in the current trilogy, The Last Jedi.

It follows a turbulent spell in Star Wars production history, which has seen Josh Trank and his Boba Fett spin-off cut, Gareth Edwards forced to do reshoots for Rogue One, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller removed from the Han Solo movie and Colin Trevorrow fired from Episode IX.

Johnson was approached about taking over IX, which will now be helmed by JJ Abrams, but this new trilogy is an even bigger investment.

“We had the time of our lives collaborating with Lucasfilm and Disney on The Last Jedi,” Johnson and Bergman said in a joint statement. “Star Wars is the greatest modern mythology and we feel very lucky to have contributed to it. We can’t wait to continue with this new series of films.”

"We all loved working with Rian on The Last Jedi," said Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm. “He’s a creative force, and watching him craft The Last Jedi from start to finish was one of the great joys of my career. Rian will do amazing things with the blank canvas of this new trilogy."