This has been a big week for the Star Wars franchise, to say the least. Days ago, Kathleen Kennedy announced she would step down as president of Lucasfilm and hand the reins over to Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan. As a new chapter for the production company begins, Kennedy is speaking about her experiences. With that, she made some comments about Rian Johnson’s stint working within the galaxy far, far away, and he’s has since responded.
Kathleen Kennedy Makes Claims About Why Rian Johnson Only Made One Star Wars Movie
Let’s start with Kennedy’s comments. The producer, who became president of Lucasfilm since 2012 after George Lucas sold the company to Walt Disney Studios, recently reflected on her time in the position. She discussed the highs and lows of the job while speaking with Deadline. When specifically asked about the films Rian Johnson was reportedly set to helm following 2017’s The Last Jedi, Kennedy said the following:
Kennedy responded by suggesting that one reason Johnson didn’t return to helm his other films was due to him being “spooked” by the negative reactions that The Last Jedi received by people online. Upon its release, the film (which made $1.3 million at the worldwide box office, as noted by Deadline) received positive reviews from critics, though there were fans who were dissatisfied with it for a myriad of reasons. Even today, there are those who continue to express their grievances.
That’s not the only reason Kennedy attributes to Johnson not directing further SW films either. She also points out that another factor was the writer/director’s desire to focus his energy towards the Knives Out movies starting in 2018.
Rian Johnson eventually caught wind of Kathleen Kennedy’s comments. With that, he took to X, where he reposted an article covering Kennedy’s quotes and shared his take. In his words (which have had punctuation added to them):
Well, there you have it, two conflicting sets thoughts here on why there’s only Rian Johnson-helmed Star Wars movie thus far. Although Johnson’s response is brief, it seems he doesn’t agree with the notion that it was negative fan energy that turned him away from the massive IP. The question still remains, though: would Johnson direct another one of those films?
In the summer of 2025, Johnson was asked about whether he’d return to Star Wars. He admitted that he’d kicked around ideas with Kathleen Kennedy after The Last Jedi but that he’d ultimately been “busy making murder mysteries” since his 2017 sci-fi film. Still, Johnson also shared that he “would be thrilled” to do something else Star Wars “down the line” should the opportunity present itself, but he’s currently rather happy doing his “own stuff.”