Rian Johnson
Director · Producer
Known for
Rian Johnson is an American director born in Silver Spring, Maryland, celebrated for structurally inventive genre films that playfully subvert audience expectation. Brick, a high-school-set homage to hardboiled noir, established his gift for genre pastiche rendered with genuine craft rather than mere parody, while Looper, a time-travel thriller examining a hitman confronted with his own future self, showed his equally confident command of science fiction. Star Wars: The Last Jedi brought his subversive instincts to a major franchise, deliberately upending fan expectations in ways that proved deeply divisive. Knives Out and its sequel Glass Onion, both stylish whodunits starring Daniel Craig as a droll Southern detective, became major commercial and critical successes, reviving the classic mystery genre for contemporary audiences. Johnson's consistent talent for subverting and revitalizing established genre formulas has made him one of the most commercially successful genre stylists of his generation.
Rian Johnson
Director · Producer
Rian Johnson is an American director born in Silver Spring, Maryland, celebrated for structurally inventive genre films that playfully subvert audience expectation. Brick, a high-school-set homage to hardboiled noir, established his gift for genre pastiche rendered with genuine craft rather than mere parody, while Looper, a time-travel thriller examining a hitman confronted with his own future self, showed his equally confident command of science fiction. Star Wars: The Last Jedi brought his subversive instincts to a major franchise, deliberately upending fan expectations in ways that proved deeply divisive. Knives Out and its sequel Glass Onion, both stylish whodunits starring Daniel Craig as a droll Southern detective, became major commercial and critical successes, reviving the classic mystery genre for contemporary audiences. Johnson's consistent talent for subverting and revitalizing established genre formulas has made him one of the most commercially successful genre stylists of his generation.
Movies (12 titles)
Director
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
2025
Director
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
2017
Director
Knives Out
2019
Director
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
2022
Director
Looper
2012
Director
Brick
2006
Director
The Brothers Bloom
2009
Director
Evil Demon Golfball from Hell!!!
1997
Director
The Psychology of Dream Analysis
2002
Director
Ben Boyer and the Phenomenology of Automobile Marketing
2001
TV Shows (5 titles)
Latest Trailers
Watch Trailer
Netflix Tudum 2025
Full Filmography 17
The Hawk
Executive Producer · 10 episodes
2026–
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Director
2025
3 Body Problem
Executive Producer · 8 episodes
2024–
Poker Face
Creator
2023–
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Director
2022
Knives Out
Director
2019
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Director
2017
Looper
Director
2012
Terriers
Director · 1 episode
2010–
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Rian Johnson and where are they from?
Rian Johnson is 52 years old, born on December 17, 1973 in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
What are the most famous roles of Rian Johnson?
Rian Johnson is best known for directing Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Knives Out, Looper.
How many movies has Rian Johnson directed?
Over a 33-year career (since 1993), Rian Johnson has directed or written 12 films and worked on 5 TV shows.
What was Rian Johnson's first movie?
The career of Rian Johnson began with Untitled Sci-Fi Rian Johnson Film ().
What is Rian Johnson's most recent movie or series?
Rian Johnson's most recent release is The Hawk, which premiered on July 16, 2026.
What TV shows has Rian Johnson created or directed?
On television, Rian Johnson has appeared in Breaking Bad, 3 Body Problem, Poker Face, Terriers.
Rian Johnson
1973-12-17 · Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
Rian Craig Johnson (born December 17, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He made his directorial debut with the neo-noir mystery film Brick (2005), which received positive reviews and grossed nearly $4 million on a $450,000 budget. Transitioning to higher-profile films, Johnson achieved mainstream recognition for writing and directing the science-fiction thriller Looper (2012) to critical and commercial success. Johnson landed his largest project when he wrote and directed the space opera Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), which grossed over $1 billion. He returned to the mystery genre with Knives Out (2019) and its sequel Glass Onion (2022), both of which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay, respectively.
Additionally, Johnson is also known for directing three highly acclaimed episodes for the television series Breaking Bad (2008–2013), namely "Ozymandias," "Fly," and "Fifty-One"; for the latter, he received the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing—Drama Series in 2013. He also created a murder mystery series titled Poker Face for Peacock with Natasha Lyonne. Johnson was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.Rian Johnson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.