By James White | Posted 9 Nov 2017

Disney and Lucasfilm have, in recent months, had a little trouble hanging on to Star Wars directors. But one who has proven to be a solid fit for the universe is The Last Jedi's Rian Johnson. He's now going to create a brand new trilogy of movies set in that galaxy far, far away.

It's early days, so no details have been announced about what the new movies will include, but according to the official Star Wars site, the films will represent a move away from the Skywalker story and into a previously unexplored bit of the galaxy with all new characters. Johnson will outline the trilogy and is aboard to write and direct the initial entry, working alongside regular producer Ram Bergman and the Lucasfilm team.

"We all loved working with Rian on The Last Jedi," says Lucasfilm boss and producer Kathleen Kennedy. “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."

"We had the time of our lives collaborating with Lucasfilm and Disney on The Last Jedi," Johnson and Bergman say in a joint statement. "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."

In addition to the announcement of new movies, Disney chief Robert Iger also used a financial earnings call with analysts to announce that a live-action TV series set in the Star Wars universe is once again in active development, and is taking aim at a release on Disney's planned new streaming service launching in 2019.

The Last Jedi arrives in the UK on 14 December, ahead of the 15 December launch Stateside.

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