Kathleen Kennedy has revealed why original Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker director Colin Trevorrow isn’t making the final film in the Skywalker saga.
Back in 2015, way before Star Wars: The Force Awakens broke box office records, it was announced that Colin Trevorrow of Jurassic World fame would be directing what was then called Star Wars: Episode IX. As Star Wars: The Last Jedi hit production, Kathleen Kennedy and the rest of the folks at Lucasfilm realized that Colin Trevorrow wasn’t the right for the final film in the Skywalker saga. In September of 2017, Colin Trevorrow and Kathleen Kennedy amicably announced that the Jurassic World director would be stepping away from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. As expected, Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams stepped in to complete what is now known as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Now that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is in its last leg of promotion, Kathleen Kennedy revealed to io9 some key details as to why Colin Trevorrow left the project, including how he had different plans than her and the studio regarding the film.
“Well, I wouldn’t say it didn’t work. Colin was at a huge disadvantage not having been a part of Force Awakens and in part of those early conversations because we had a general sense of where the story was going. Like any development process, it was only in the development that we’re looking at a first draft and realizing that it was perhaps heading in a direction that many of us didn’t feel was really quite where we wanted it to go.”
Kathleen Kennedy hired Colin Trevorrow just as Jurassic World was becoming a financial behemoth. It made sense to hire a hotshot director new one the block right after his second film was a critical and financial success. However, he was doing his own thing, which wasn’t Kathleen Kennedy intended for the final film in the Skywalker branch of Star Wars.
“And we were on a schedule, as we often are with these movies, and had to make a tough decision as to whether or not we thought we could get there in the time or not. And as I said, Colin was at a disadvantage because he hadn’t been immersed in everything that we all had starting out with Episode VII.”
In the end, it turns out that Colin Trevorrow imagined Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker to go in a completely different direction that Kathleen Kennedy and J.J. Abrams had planned. In the end, it’s great to know that Kathleen Kennedy brought J.J. back to round out, arguably, the most culturally impactful franchise of all time.
Are you excited to see Kathleen Kennedy’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker? Comment below and let us know!
Here’s the synopsis for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker:
Lucasfilm and director J. J. Abrams join forces once again to take viewers on an epic journey to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the riveting conclusion of the seminal Skywalker saga, where new legends will be born and the final battle for freedom is yet to come.
Directed by J. J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Naomi Ackie, Dominic Monaghan, Richard E. Grant, Keri Russell, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Ian McDiarmid, and Billy Dee Williams. Carrie Fisher will appear as General Leia Organa through the use of previously unreleased footage shot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will be released in theaters on December 20, 2019.
Source: io9
