'He Got Spooked' — Lucasfilm Boss Kathleen Kennedy Says The Last Jedi Director Rian Johnson Was Put Off Making More Star Wars Due to 'Online Negativity'

Star Wars: The Last Jedi manager Rian Johnson "got spooked by the online negativity" portion considering his aboriginal with the franchise, according to outgoing Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.

In a Deadline interrogation published alongside the quality of her departure, Kennedy suggested that Johnson was enactment disconnected continuing aboriginal plans with Lucasfilm for him to nutrient his ain Star Wars trilogy, pursuing the aggravated online backlash to The Last Jedi.

It's a notable admittance from Kennedy, particularly aft galore interviews with Johnson and others antecedently blamed the filmmaker's enactment connected deed Netflix execution enigma movie bid Knives Out arsenic the main crushed wherefore helium was present excessively engaged to proceed connected Star Wars. Kennedy mentions Knives Out too, but past goes further — describing the online effect to The Last Jedi arsenic "the unsmooth part."

Rian Johnson. Image credit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images.

"Once helium made the Netflix woody and went disconnected to commencement doing the Knives Out films, that has occupied a immense magnitude of his time," Kennedy began erstwhile asked wherefore Johnson had not yet returned. "That's the different happening that happens here. After Shawn [Levy, present the manager of Star Wars: Starfighter] and I started talking astir Star Wars, Stranger Things kicks successful and helium was wholly consumed for a portion by that. That's what happened with Rian.

"And past I bash judge helium got spooked by the online negativity," she continued. "I deliberation Rian made 1 of the champion Star Wars movies. He's a superb filmmaker and helium got spooked. This is the unsmooth part. When radical travel into this space, I person each filmmaker and actors accidental to me, 'What's going to happen?' They’re a small scared."

Lucasfilm initially announced plans for Johnson to constitute and nonstop his ain Star Wars trilogy, abstracted to the franchise's main Skywalker Saga. But arsenic the years person worn connected — and galore different Star Wars projects person fizzled retired oregon been placed connected the backmost burner — it has go progressively wide this trilogy volition ne'er materialize.

Speaking lone past month, Johnson said helium had intended The Last Jedi to beryllium a movie that "shook the box" successful bid to upend instrumentality expectations, alternatively than simply service up different movie that handled the franchise and its assemblage with "kid gloves" — thing different entries successful Disney's Star Wars sequel trilogy person besides been accused of.

"I was hoping for that — I wasn't acrophobic of it per se," Johnson told Polygon successful December 2025. "Having grown up a Star Wars fan, I cognize that happening wherever thing challenges it, and I cognize the recoil against that. I cognize however determination tin beryllium infighting successful the satellite of Star Wars. But I besides cognize that the worst misdeed is to grip it with kid gloves."

Kennedy leaves her relation arsenic the brag of Lucasfilm with 2 Star Wars films present successful post-production: this year's The Mandalorian and Grogu, a spinoff from the deed Disney+ TV series, and the standalone Ryan Gosling-starring Star Wars: Starfighter, owed successful 2027. As portion of the aforesaid exit interview, Kennedy besides mentioned the now-abandoned plans to marque a Ben Solo movie starring Adam Driver, stating that "anything’s a anticipation if somebody’s consenting to instrumentality a risk."

Image credit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social