Rian Johnson

Rian Craig Johnson, born on December 17, 1973, is a distinguished American director and writer. He first garnered attention with his debut feature, the neo-noir thriller *Brick* in 2005, which was both a critical success and a financial triumph, earning nearly $4 million from a modest budget of $450,000. Johnson then elevated his profile in Hollywood with the acclaimed science fiction film *Looper* in 2012, blending time travel with thrilling storytelling, which resonated with both audiences and critics alike.

His most ambitious project came in 2017 with *Star Wars: The Last Jedi*, where he wrote and directed the eighth installment in the iconic franchise, generating over $1 billion at the box office. Johnson returned to his mystery roots with *Knives Out* in 2019, a film that was met with widespread acclaim, followed by its sequel, *Glass Onion*, released in 2022. Both films earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay, respectively.

In addition to his film work, Johnson made significant contributions to television, directing three notable episodes of *Breaking Bad* (2008–2013), particularly the critically lauded “Ozymandias,” which won him the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series in 2013. Recently, he created the murder mystery series *Poker Face* for Peacock, starring Natasha Lyonne. In 2023, Time magazine recognized him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.