Rian Johnson

• 1. High School And The First Cut

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  Rian Johnson was born on the 17th of December 1973 in Silver Spring, Maryland. He grew up in Denver, Colorado until sixth grade before moving to San Clemente, California. He attended San Clemente High School and graduated there in 1992. That same high school would later serve as the primary filming location for his debut feature film Brick. He went on to attend the University of Southern California and graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 1996. His second short film Evil Demon Golfball from Hell!!! loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart appeared as an easter egg on the Looper Blu-ray disc.

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• 2. The Low Budget Breakthrough

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  Johnson made his directorial debut with the neo-noir mystery film Brick released in 2005. The production cost just under $500,000 yet it grossed nearly $4 million at the box office. He looked to Dashiell Hammett's novels for inspiration regarding the unique use of language within the script. While classified as a film noir he claimed no references were made to that genre during production. Focus Features released the film on DVD after its theatrical run. The movie won multiple awards including the Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision and the Grand Jury Prize.

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• 3. Directing The Television Peak

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  In March 2010 Johnson announced he was directing an episode of Breaking Bad for its third season. The episode titled Fly aired on the 23rd of May 2010. He directed a second episode called Fifty-One which aired on the 5th of August 2012. That specific episode earned him a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing , Drama Series in 2013. A third episode Ozymandias received high praise from critics who frequently cited it as one of the best television episodes ever to air. His work on the series spanned three distinct installments between 2010 and 2013.

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• 4. The Time Travel Thriller

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  Johnson's third feature film Looper began shooting in Louisiana on the 24th of January 2011. It was released on the 28th of September 2012 by TriStar Pictures and FilmDistrict. Set in the near future the story involves hitmen whose victims are sent from the future. The film opened both the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and the 2012 Palo Alto International Film Festival. Looper became a surprise success at the box office while earning critical acclaim. Critics praised the screenplay and the film won several awards including the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation Long Form.

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• 5. The Star Wars Gamble

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  On the 20th of June 2014 news broke that Johnson would write and direct the eighth installment in the Star Wars film series. He confirmed the report the following month. The film Star Wars: The Last Jedi was released on the 15th of December 2017 to positive reviews from critics and audiences. On the 9th of November 2017 it was announced he would write a new trilogy of Star Wars films separate from the main story arc. By 2025 his plans for this trilogy had not materialized and the project never got past the conceptual stage. Multiple sources reported he turned down an offer to direct Episode IX though Johnson denied ever being in discussion for that role.

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• 6. The Mystery Franchise Boom

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  Following The Last Jedi Johnson directed the murder mystery feature film Knives Out starring Daniel Craig Ana de Armas and Christopher Plummer. He penned the script and co-produced with longtime partner Ram Bergman. The film was released on the 27th of November 2019 and grossed over $300 million worldwide. It earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. A sequel titled Glass Onion began filming on the 28th of June 2021 and received a one-week theatrical release from November 23 to 29 2022 before streaming on Netflix. A third film Wake Up Dead Man was released on Netflix in November 2025.

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• 7. Music And Longstanding Partnerships

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  Johnson is a folk singer and banjo player who makes up a duo called the Preserves with his cousin Nathan Johnson. Nathan composed scores for Brick The Brothers Bloom Looper Knives Out Glass Onion and Wake Up Dead Man. His brother Aaron Johnson works as a music producer. He has maintained a longstanding collaboration with actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt who appears in all of his feature films. In 2006 he directed the video for the Mountain Goats song Woke Up New after bandleader John Darnielle noticed a reference to them in the credits for Brick.

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