Rian Johnson teases that his Star Wars trilogy will move 'beyond legacy characters'

With the Skywalker Saga about to close out for good in December, it's time to start thinking about the future of Star Wars. Where will the iconic franchise go once the galaxy far, far away's most famous family is done with their tale of good versus evil? Well, you don't need to worry your pretty little head about it, because Rian Johnson is on the case! Speaking with The Observer, The Last Jedi writer/director teased his in-development trilogy for Lucasfilm, talking about how he's excited about the prospect of moving into uncharted territory.

“I think that the fun and challenging part of it is to dive in, figure out what’s exciting, and then figure out what it’s going to be,” he said. “We’re doing something that steps beyond the legacy characters. What does that look like? To me, the blue-sky element of it is what was most striking about it. I know the way that I’m coming at it, and what’s fun about it for everyone in George Lucas’ films is figuring out, ‘What’s the next step?’ It really makes you think and figure out what the essence of Star Wars is for me and what that will look like moving forward.”

Is he perhaps referring to Temiri Blagg, the little Force-sensitive boy (played by Temirlan Blaev) who showed up at the very end of TLJ? Could this unknown quantity end up serving as the basis for a brand-new series of films in this ever-expanding universe? Nothing is certain, but if Johnson proved anything with Episode VIII, it's that he wants to majorly subvert our expectations of the 42-year-old franchise.

Credit: Lucasfilm/Disney

Of course, Game of Thrones' D.B. Weiss and David Benioff are also working on their own contribution to the Star Wars mythos, but with their major Netflix deal having gone through just a few days ago, it sounds like they may end up scaling back on that front. Based on a recent report, they'll be writing three treatments for another trilogy, and are contractually obligated to write a full screenplay for at least one of them.

Hopefully, we get a few more nuggets of information at D23 Expo in Anaheim next weekend. Who knows, we may even get a new trailer for The Rise of Skywalker, which opens in theaters everywhere Dec. 20. The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams is back to helm that one, from a script he co-wrote with Chris Terrio.