A few weeks back, it was confirmed that 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' director Rian Johnson had been granted a trilogy of standalone 'Star Wars' movies to work on in the future, allowing his creative juices to continue flowing into the world of science fiction, and one of the biggest franchises on the planet. For fans it was exciting, but ever since the reveal, we've all been chomping at the bit for more details.

Rian Johnson has a big future in the 'Star Wars' franchise set out for himRian Johnson has a big future in the 'Star Wars' franchise set out for him

No release dates have yet been confirmed for the trio of films, but many are assuming that they'll come after 2020, when the current episodic instalments have been completed and premiered, as well as the solo Han Solo flick that's set for release in 2018.

When the announcement came, it said that Johnson would be given the opportunity to "introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that 'Star Wars' lore has never before explored," so fans are understandably excited about a whole new section of the 'Star Wars' universe being opened up.

Speaking with IGN, the filmmaker said: "Right now there's all the freedom in the world. That's the whole thing that's exciting to me is let's go some new places, let's meet some new folks, let's see what else is out there. Let's have one story told over three films in this galaxy with no limitations. It's pretty exciting."

We imagine that the ideas floating around Johnson's head for the trilogy have already been run past the big wigs at Disney and Lucasfilm, but that doesn't mean they're going to be confirmed at any point in the near future. If, as predicted the first of the three movies doesn't make it to cinemas until 2020 at the earliest, lots of things could change in the years running up to release, so it wouldn't make sense to make such a premature announcement.

Whatever the case may be, the 'Star Wars' franchise shows no signs of slowing down; the box office is going to take in some big money in the future if the traditions of 'Star Wars' releases so far is to be followed!

More: 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' Is The Franchise's Longest Film To-Date

'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' is set for release in UK cinemas on December 15, 2017, with 'Episode IX' scheduled to drop two years later in December 2019. We'll bring you more news on Johnson's standalone trilogy as and when we get it.