On June 20, 2014, news broke that Johnson would write and direct the eighth installment in the "Star Wars" film series. Johnson confirmed the report that following month and the film, "", was released on December 15, 2017, to positive reviews from critics and audiences. After Colin Trevorrow departed "Episode IX", Johnson turned down an offer from Lucasfilm to write and direct the follow-up to "The Last Jedi". On November 9, 2017, it was announced that Johnson would write a new trilogy of "Star Wars" films, separate from the main story arc of previous films in the franchise, and would direct the first installment of his trilogy.