Rian Johnson has explained to IGN how he's approaching his new Star Wars trilogy, seemingly the first mainline Star Wars movies outside of 'The Skywalker Saga'.

"We're just at the very beginning of figuring out what this new thing is going to be," he explained in an interview with IGN, "but part of the excitement of it is really trying to hone in on 'what is Star Wars?' What was Star Wars for me the very first time I saw it when I was a little kid? What are the combination of elements that just made me want to jump into the screen, and made me want to go home and instantly start telling my own stories?"

Core to that idea for Johnson seems to be trying to imagine how a film can feel like Star Wars without the series' most recognisable elements:

"Once you get past the things that are the iconography of Star Wars - once you say, okay, if it doesn't have the Falcon; if it doesn't have someone with Skywalker as their last name; if we don't go to Tatooine, what is it? What is it at its essence? It's a really exciting question, and I think it's something that has to be answered at some point. So let's figure it out."

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Johnson may well be taking notes on the 'Star Wars Story' sub-series, which has begun crafting films somewhat isolated from the core series.

In a separate interview with IGN, Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill cited that separation from the Skywalker Saga as a bonus, and much of what he explains could well apply to Johnson's trilogy:

"I think the potential for all the new incarnations is they can have their own identity," said Hamill. "You can have Rogue One be that gritty war movie, and Han Solo he's a rogue, and a womaniser, and a gambler - there's a much more comedic feel to [his film]. That's what I'm hoping - especially since they're standalone films, they don't have to follow the structure of a three-act play, they can be as diverse as possible within the Star Wars universe.

"That's the challenge. You want to have all the elements that identify them as Star Wars films, with the action and the special effects and the characters and the humour - I hope they don't lose the humour, although Rogue One was obviously pretty serious. But have the things that people want in a Star Wars film, but then push the envelope as best you can and make as many different kinds of movies as you can."

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Before The Last Jedi was released, Johnson was tasked with writing and directing a new trilogy that will "introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored." He has said that criticism of The Last Jedi won't influence how he's approaching the new films.

Rian Johnson was speaking to IGN to promote the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which is out in the UK on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download 9th April.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's UK News Editor, and he really wants Johnson's trilogy to have an alien lead character. Follow him on Twitter.