Rian Johnson Chosen By Disney to Write and Direct Next Two Star Wars Films

Posted on June 20, 2014

Well, here's a giant piece of Star Wars news: Deadline reports that writer Rian Johnson has just been chosen by Disney to write and direct the next two Star Wars movies. Johnson will write the screenplays and direct Episodes VIII and Episode IX. Johnson wrote and directed Looper, the time travel thriller which stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis and Emilly Blunt. J.J. Abrams is directing Star Wars: Episode VII, which is shooting right now in England.

Johnson is taking over the franchise and is locked in for the duration. No one has issued an official statement yet, but Johnson tweeted this classic clip from the film The Right Stuff in which astronaut Alan Sheppard (played by Scott Glenn) is about to blast off into space. Sheppard is really nervous and utters this prayer: "Dear Lord, please don't let me eff up." A puzzled voice at Mission Control asks him what he just said and he replies, "I said everything is A-OK." So, he definitely gets the enormity of what he's just taken on.