J.J. Abrams selected to direct Star Wars: Episode IX
Credit: By Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
September 20, 2017
J.J. Abrams is heading back to a galaxy far, far away…
One week after film director Colin Trevorrow stepped down from directing the much anticipated conclusion to the newest Star Wars sequel trilogy, Lucasfilm announced that J.J. Abrams will return to the franchise to direct “Star Wars: Episode IX.”
When the Trevorrow-directed “Jurassic World” grossed over $600 million in the box office, Lucasfilm officially announced Trevorrow as the director of “Star Wars: Episode IX” on Aug. 15, 2015. Since then, due to differing visions for the direction of the project, Lucasfilm and Trevorrow have mutually decided to detach his name from the project. A post from the official Star Wars website released the information on Sept. 5.
Abrams is no stranger to the series, as he helped reignite the Star Wars film franchise when he directed 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Abrams will help co-write the film with Academy-Award winner Chris Terrio. Bad Robot, Abrams’ own production company, will also help produce the film.
“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.
The film’s initial release was slated for May 2019, but is pushed back to Dec. 20, 2019.
The next installment of the Star Wars franchise, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” hits theaters Dec. 15, 2017.
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