Following the departure of controversial Star Wars lead Kathleen Kennedy, it was claimed Rian Johnson, who wrote and directed Star Wars: The Last Jedi, was “spooked” away from returning to the series from negative reception. Well, he’s come forward to clear the air.
On social media, Johnson refuted the claim. He’s since moved onto making a trio of films part of the Knives Out universe, with the most recent being just last year.
Now to be clear, Kennedy didn’t definitively say he was spooked off, only speculating why he shifted away to work on the Knives Out films for Netflix.
“And then I do believe he got spooked by the online negativity. I think Rian made one of the best Star Wars movies. He’s a brilliant filmmaker and he got spooked. This is the rough part. When people come into this space, I have every filmmaker and actors say to me, ‘What’s going to happen?’ They’re a little scared.”
Shawn Levy and Ryan Gosling’s Star Wars: Starfighter is in the works with plans to hit theaters on May 28, 2027.