Mere days after the departure of Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow from the untitled Star Wars Episode IX, it’s been announced that The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams will step in to finish the sequel trilogy.
The official statement from StarWars.com …
J.J. Abrams, who launched a new era of Star Wars with The Force Awakens in 2015, is returning to complete the sequel trilogy as writer and director of Star Wars: Episode IX. Abrams will co-write the film with Chris Terrio. Star Wars: Episode IX will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, Abrams, Bad Robot, and Lucasfilm.“With The Force Awakens, J.J. delivered everything we could have possibly hoped for, and I am so excited that he is coming back to close out this trilogy,” said Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy.
While much has been made of recent Star Wars directorial oustings, it seems as if Lucasfilm is either”trading up” or playing it safe with directors they know they can work with.
I’m sure there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes drama that will come out in years to come, but personally I feel a bit better about Abrams taking the helm and it does seem very fitting for him to come back for the finale.
In other Star Wars related news, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has a “secret” cameo in The Last Jedi.
From the AV Club…
[Director Rian] Johnson shared that information himself during the Japanese press tour for The Last Jedi, saying that Gordon-Levitt’s role is “a very brief little thing,” but it will be “fun.” Up until now, Gordon-Levitt has appeared in all three of Johnson’s feature film projects, so his fun/brief alien role in The Last Jedi will bring the streak up to four.
Star Wars Episode IX is due to hit theaters in 2019. Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi hits theaters on December 15 of this year.
[Source: Star Wars]
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