Star Wars to get new trilogy by The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson, Disney announces

Star Wars fans are set to get another trilogy in the franchise by The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson, Disney announced on Thursday (9 November).

The first instalment of the new trilogy is set to be written and directed by Johnson, along with his long-time producer Ram Bergman, The Verge reported. The new trilogy will not focus on the original Skywalker sage, but instead on a new crop of "characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored".

Johnson directed The Last Jedi, which is due on 15 December.

"We all loved working with Rian on The Last Jedi," Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said in a statement.

"He's a creative force, and watching him craft The Last Jedi from start to finish was one of the great joys of my career. Rian will do amazing things with the blank canvas of this new trilogy."

In a joint statement, Johnson and Bergman said they had "the time of our lives" working on The Last Jedi. "Star Wars is the greatest modern mythology and we feel very lucky to have contributed to it. We can't wait to continue with this new series of films."

The long-term deal with Johnson for the new trilogy follows a series of tumultuous relations Lucasfilm has had with filmmakers helming other Star Wars productions.

Director Josh Trank, who was slated to helm a standalone Star Wars film, was fired following concerns with his performance during Fox's Fantastic Four, The Verge noted. Despite having director Gareth Edwards for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, additional filmmakers were brought in to rework the film.

Meanwhile, directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were near the end of principal photography for a Han Solo standalone film before they were sacked and replaced by filmmaker Ron Howard.

Disney also announced it is planning a live-action Star Wars TV series to launch on its streaming service by the end of 2019.