Following the behind-the-scenes drama of Disney’s new Star Wars franchise — particularly the making of Solo: A Star Wars Story — has been as entertaining as a movie in itself. We all have heard that Ron Howard was brought in to replace directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The LEGO Movie) when producers were unhappy with the joke-filled tone they were aiming for. But little has come to light about another directorial replacement: that of Colin Trevorrow, who had been set to be the director of the third saga film, Star Wars: Episode IX.
Originally hired because of his directing creativity in Safety Not Guarenteed and his proof he can handle a major Hollywood blockbuster with Jurassic World, Trevorrow was to round out the new trilogy started by J.J. Abrams and continued by Rian Johnson. Yet before even the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, news broke that Trevorrow had been removed from the project and replaced by Abrams.
We recently learned that Kathleen Kennedy, President of Lucasfilm and executive producer of the Star Wars franchise (very akin to the role of Marvel’s Kevin Feige), grew uneasy at his early drafts. According to The Wall Street Journal, Trevorrow had co-written the story with playwright Jack Thorne and claimed to be as unhappy with the result as she was, asking for another go at it.
Yet Kennedy refused and removed him from the project altogether. Now Abrams will pick up where Johnson left off at the end of Last Jedi and attempt to bring the new trilogy to a satisfying conclusion worthy of the brand Star Wars.
Abrams is set to direct Episode IX from a script he’s co-written with Academy Award winner Chris Terrio, the writer behind Argo, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and DC’s latest superhero flick Justice League.
Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver are expected to return for Star Wars: Episode IX. Production on the project is set to kick off at the end of July.
Star Wars: Episode IX opens in theaters on December 20th, 2019.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
