'Star Wars' director speaks out against 'scared' comment

Rian Johnson, best known for making the Knives Out franchise, says there is no truth to what Kathleen Kennedy — former president of Lucasfilm — said about him.

She previously claimed the filmmaker was spooked by fan negativity, adding that it was the reason he quit making a new Star Wars trilogy after directing The Last Jedi.

“I do believe he got spooked by the online negativity,” the executive told Deadline, referring to the reception Rian’s last outing in the Star Wars universe received.

“I think Rian made one of the best ‘Star Wars’ movies. He’s a brilliant filmmaker, and he got spooked. This is the rough part. When people come into this space, I have every filmmaker and actor say to me, ‘What’s going to happen?’ They’re a little scared," Kathleen said.

Now, in response to Kathleen's remarks, the director posts on X, "Lol zero spooked, sorry."

Rian previously explained why his planned trilogy did not take place, sharing that it was "all very conceptual" and it fizzled out. Instead, it got involved in Knives Out.

“Nothing really happened with it,” he told Rolling Stone. “We had a great time working together, and they said, ‘Let’s keep doing it.’ I said, ‘Great!’ I would kick ideas around with Kathy. The short version is ‘Knives Out’ happened."

"I went off and made ‘Knives Out,’ and was off to the races, busy making murder mysteries. It’s the sort of thing, if, down the line, there’s an opportunity to do it, or do something else in ‘Star Wars,’ I would be thrilled. But right now I’m just doing my own stuff, and pretty happy," Rian concluded.