In a major development, Deadline is reporting that Rian Johnson will be writing and directing the next two Star Wars sequels. Johnson, best known for his previous work on Looper and the Breaking Bad episodes "Fly" and "Ozymandias," is a surprise choice given that an announcement on the future of the franchise was not expected at this time.
The Wrap offers a slightly different report, confirming Johnson for Episode VIII but saying that he will only write a treatment of Episode IX and will not be directing.
J.J. Abrams is currently co-writing and directing Episode VII, which started filming recently. It was unclear if he was going to return for the future installments, and he could still be retained as a consulting producer or some such ceremonial title.
This move the answers a lot of questions and quells speculation that surely would have ramped up as soon as Episode VII was done. By getting Johnson in the fold early, it ensures that he will have plenty of time to develop a script and vision for the next two installments of the beloved series.
Star Wars fans are known for their intense devotion to the material, so it's probably a good thing that Johnson has plenty of time to studying up.
[via Deadline]
