That’s the $64,000 question.

Did Kiri Hart play matchmaker between Rian Johnson and Episode VIII? It would appear that she did, and that she worked closely with Rian on development of The Last Jedi.

From ScreenDaily, September 2016:

From Looper, May 2017

From The NY Times, December 2017:

From ScreenDaily, December 2017:

Since it’s clear that Kiri Hart played an integral role in both the selection of Rian Johnson and the story development of Episode VIII, what influence if any will Kiri Hart’s departure from Lucasfilm have on Rian Johnson’s trilogy?

A small detail that I didn’t think much of at the time now has potentially more meaning. Bob Iger told The Hollywood Reporter back in December 2018:

The glaring omission there is Rian Johnson’s trilogy. At the time, I didn’t think much of it, because I’m sure there were plenty of projects in development that Bob Iger failed to mention. But now I wonder.

I wonder how much Lucasfilm will have to pay Rian Johnson to buy him out of his trilogy contract.

Because when you think about it, Rian Johnson was just as inexperienced as Kiri Hart was. Aside from a collection of shorts, and a few episodes of Breaking Bad, the only real feature film project that Rian had any experience on before The Last Jedi was Looper.