Biography
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...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
2025
Writer, Producer, Director
World-renowned detective Benoit Blanc returns for his most dangerous case yet.

Netflix Tudum 2025
2025
as Self
Celebrate your favorite shows and movies at this star-studded, live global fan event with special performances and exclusive reveals.

Blake Edwards: A Love Story in 24 Frames
2024
as Self
While known for cinema classics such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Days of Wine and Roses and the Pink Panther series, the iconic director, screenwriter ...

American Fiction
2023
Executive Producer
A novelist fed up with the establishment profiting from "Black" entertainment uses a pen name to write a book that propels him into the heart of hypoc...

Temple of Film: 100 Years of the Egyptian Theatre
2023
as Self
Guillermo del Toro, Rian Johnson and other film luminaries look back at LA's historic Egyptian Theatre as it returns to its former movie palace glory.

Fair Play
2023
Executive Producer
An unexpected promotion at a cutthroat hedge fund pushes a young couple's relationship to the brink, threatening to unravel not only their recent enga...

The Space Western of the Southwest
2023
Eric Cameron chronicles the relationship between Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi and the quaint town of Dingle, Ireland where it was filmed.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
2022
Writer, Director, Producer
World-famous detective Benoit Blanc heads to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery surrounding a tech billionaire and his eclectic crew of frien...

Blood Relatives
2022
Thanks
A nomadic recluse living on the fringes of society reconsiders his bloodthirsty legacy when a teenage girl shows up claiming to be his daughter.

Metal Lords
2022
Thanks
For teenage misfits Hunter and Kevin, the path to glory is clear: Devote themselves to metal. Win Battle of the Bands. And be worshipped like gods.

Scream
2022
as Party Guest (voice) (uncredited)
Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targetin...

Scream
2022
Thanks
Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targetin...

tick, tick... BOOM!
2021
Thanks
On the brink of turning 30, a promising theater composer navigates love, friendship and the pressure to create something great before time runs out.

Last Night in Soho
2021
Thanks
A young girl, passionate about fashion design, is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s where she encounters her idol, a dazzling wannabe singer. But 1...

Capone
2020
Thanks
The 47-year old Al Capone, after 10 years in prison, starts suffering from dementia and comes to be haunted by his violent past.

Knives Out
2019
Writer, Producer, Director
When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit B...

Scare Package
2019
Thanks
Chad Buckley is a horror aficionado, and he's lonely. Chad spends his days at his struggling genre video store arguing with his only regular customer,...

Destroyer
2018
Thanks
When Erin Bell was a young cop, she was given an undercover assignment that ended badly and destroyed her life. Years later, she must face her demons ...
The Last Jedi: Meet the Porgs
2018
This piece explores Porg origins and inspiration, design, transition from sketches to final physical puppet, puppet control, sound effects, and digita...

The Director and the Jedi
2018
as Self
An intimate documentary delving into Rian Johnson's process as he comes in as a director new to the Star Wars universe.

Balance of the Force
2018
as Self
Explore the mythology of the Force and why Rian Johnson chose to interpret its role in such a unique way.

The Force of Sound
2018
as Self
Go inside the sound design of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. From the ignition of a lightsaber to the chirp of a porg, Star Wars would not be the same with...

Star Wars: The Last Jedi
2017
Writer, Director
Rey develops her newly discovered abilities with the guidance of Luke Skywalker, who is unsettled by the strength of her powers. Meanwhile, the Resist...

Baby Driver
2017
Thanks
After being coerced into working for a crime boss, a young getaway driver finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
2016
as Imperial Technician (uncredited)
A rogue band of resistance fighters unite for a mission to steal the Death Star plans and bring a new hope to the galaxy.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
2016
Thanks
A rogue band of resistance fighters unite for a mission to steal the Death Star plans and bring a new hope to the galaxy.

The Hollars
2016
Thanks
Aspiring New York City artist John Hollar returns to his Middle America hometown on the eve of his mother’s brain surgery. Joined by his girlfriend, e...

The Invitation
2016
Thanks
Will and his new girlfriend Kira are invited to a dinner with old friends at the house of Will’s ex Eden and her new partner David. Although the eveni...

Tales of Halloween
2015
Thanks
Ten stories from horror's top directors. Ghosts, ghouls, monsters, and the devil delight in terrorizing unsuspecting residents of a suburban neighborh...

Out of Print
2014
as Self
A documentary exploring the importance of revival cinema and 35mm exhibition - seen through the lens of the patrons of the New Beverly Cinema - a uniq...

Nosferatu vs. Father Pipecock & Sister Funk
2014
Thanks
A reimagining /regurgitation and re-dubbing of a classic silent horror flick! Shot in mind-shattering 2D (& 36DD), featuring T&A and epic voice-over ‘...

No Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad
2013
as Self
A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.

Don Jon
2013
Thanks
A New Jersey guy dedicated to his family, friends, and church, develops unrealistic expectations from watching porn and works to find happiness and in...

The World's End
2013
Thanks
Five friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from 20 years earlier unwittingly become humankind's only hope for survival.

The English Teacher
2013
Thanks
Small-town Pennsylvania schoolteacher Linda Sinclair balances her staid home life with an incredible passion for her subject. Then a former star pupil...

Welcome to the Jungle
2013
Thanks
A company retreat on a tropical island goes terribly awry.

Looper
2012
Director, Writer
In the year 2044, time travel has not yet been invented but in 30 years it will have been. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send th...

The Outsider: A Looper's Story
2012
Thanks
Anna is a Looper, and she has a plan to survive closing her Loop.

The Woman
2011
Songs
A lawyer puts his family in jeopardy when he captures the last member of a violent clan and tries to forcibly tame her.

Brawler
2011
Thanks
Sidelined by an injury incurred while protecting his young brother, underground fighter Charlie Fontaine feels blindsided when he discovers his brothe...

The Life of the World to Come
2010
Director
The Mountain Goats in solo and duo performance at Pomona College. In this film by Rian Johnson, John Darnielle performs The Life of the World to Come ...

The Brothers Bloom
2008
Director, Writer
The Brothers Bloom are the best con men in the world, swindling millionaires with complex scenarios of lust and intrigue. Now they've decided to take ...

Spike
2008
Thanks
Described as "Angela Carter rewriting La Belle et la Bête as an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer", the story follows, through a tapestry of dreamli...
Building Brick
2006
Building Brick is the Behind the Scenes documentary for the film Brick (2006). Brick was written and directed by Rian Johnson in San Clemente, CA in 2...
Building Brick
2006
Camera Operator, Thanks
Building Brick is the Behind the Scenes documentary for the film Brick (2006). Brick was written and directed by Rian Johnson in San Clemente, CA in 2...

Brick
2006
Director, Editor, Writer
A teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.

Escargots
2006
Camera Operator
An adaptation of a children's poem called Chanson des escargots qui vont à l'enterrement by Jacques Prévert, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Filmed in ...

May
2003
Editor
A socially awkward veterinary assistant with a lazy eye and obsession with perfection descends into depravity after developing a crush on a boy with p...

People Are Dead
2002
Thanks
A group of disconnected people are brought together by a string of awkward events in post-9/11 Manhattan. A body-snatcher (Mia Tyler) is gathering dea...

The Psychology of Dream Analysis
2002
Director, Writer
Soon after entering a course called "The Psychology of Dream Analysis," Lillian discovers she has been having another person's dreams all her life.

Ben Boyer and the Phenomenology of Automobile Marketing
2001
Director
While sitting on the toilet one November morning, Ben Boyer receives a Jungian lesson on archetypal marketing.
Phyfutima
1998
Camera Operator

Evil Demon Golfball from Hell!!!
1997
Writer, Director, Editor
A man is tormented by a seemingly possessed golf ball.

Greater Than a Tiger
1997
Editor

Omaha (The Movie)
1995
Production Assistant
From the co-founder of Slamdance comes the story of a young man who returns home from a trip abroad to confront not just his peculiar family and frien...

Cleaning the Pool
1995
Director, Writer
A sinister battle arises when a young man attempts to clean a pool. (Super8 student short film by Rian Johnson at USC, inspired by the works of Sam Ra...

Hey Lady, You Dropped Your Wallet!!!
1993
as The Whacky Protagonist
A hapless young man attempts to return a lost wallet to a woman as she ventures through the city of San Fransisco

Hey Lady, You Dropped Your Wallet!!!
1993
Writer, Director, Editor
A hapless young man attempts to return a lost wallet to a woman as she ventures through the city of San Fransisco

Ninja Ko
1990
Director, Writer
Ninja Ko runs into trouble somewhere in the tropical rain forests of northern Tennessee. He must use his guile and his abilities with origami to escap...
Rian Johnson: Planning the Perfect Murder
N/A
as Himself
Director Rian Johnson explains his thought process behind the 2019 film Knives Out.
Untitled Gene Kelly Project
N/A
Producer
A 12 year old boy who works on the MGM Lot in 1952, begins to create an imagined friendship with the legendary movie star Gene Kelly while working on ...
Untitled AI Thriller
N/A
Producer