Has Rian Johnson's mega 'Knives Out' deal with Netflix put his 'Star Wars' films on the back-burner?

It would seem that filmmaker Rian Johnson's tryst with his Knives Out films is going to last longer. The 2019 film's massive box office returns led to an unprecedented deal with Netflix who sealed the deal for two sequels at a whopping $450 million. Following this, it was apparent that Johnson would get busy whipping up Knives out 2 & 3, and as per the latest reports, this commitment has put his The Last Jedi Trilogy on the "back burner".

In the recent Vanity Fair story, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy revealed that while the new Star Wars trilogy announced in 2017 was certainly still on the cards, the making however has undergone a considerable delay owing to Rian Johnson's other commitments. Netflix's $450 million deal in 2021 to obtain the rights to Knives Out 2 and Knives Out 3 meant that Johnson was to dedicate all his time and effort to the new franchise and sideline the Star Wars films as a result. Confirming the same, Kathleen Kennedy added that The Last Jedi director has indeed been "unbelievably busy" with the Knives Out films and is likely to remain so for quite some time.

Rian Johnson was brought on board to write a new Star Wars trilogy that would be based on a completely new narrative, separate from the main story arc, and also direct the first installment. Soon after that announcement, Johnson's maiden film for the Star Wars franchise, The Last Jedi, released internationally to critical acclaim and massive commercial results.

Knives Out follows Daniel Craig's Benoit Blanc, a master detective, hired to crack the case of a wealthy patriarch's sudden death during his birthday celebrations with his large but highly dysfunctional family. The film was made at a modest budget of $40 million but went on to earn more than $310 million at the box office, thus demanding a franchise of its own. Knives Out 2 is currently in the making with Craig reprising his role.