Star Wars fans -- go ahead and have a good feeling about this.
Disney and Lucasfilm have lined up up Rian Johnson -- who wrote and directed the whip-smart sci-fi adventure Looper and some great episodes of Breaking Bad -- to direct the next main chapter in the Star Wars franchise, Episode VIII, according to multiple reports.
Depending on which report you believe, he will also either direct or write a treatment for Episode IX.
Johnson has been in serious high demand since Looper, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis, made an impression on fanboys and critics -- not to mention an impressive $176 million at the global box office. Offers for multiple major franchises have come his way since, and it looks like his patience and particularity have paid off with a bigger prize.
Deadline first reported that Johnson will write and direct both films, while TheWrap came in minutes later to say he was only writing a treatment for IX.
Either way, it's pretty clear from his follow-up tweet that he's involved:
— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) June 20, 2014
Lucasfilm has announced two directors of Star Wars spin-off movies, to screen between the episodes: Josh Trank (Chronicle) and Gareth Edwards (Godzilla).
This story is developing ...