A week after director Colin Trevorrow left production of Star Wars: Episode IX, a familiar fella has come in to replace him. He’s a mainstay of modern science fiction epics, with a proven record of bringing his vision of the Star Wars universe to the big screen.
You’re goddamn right, George Lucas J.J. Abrams is officially filling the void left by Trevorrow, who was bailed from the project over creative differences.
A statement posted on the official Star Wars site confirms the Episode VII director will once again write and helm the biggest movie franchise of all time. Chris Terrio will co-write, and the film is being partly produced by Abrams’ own Bad Robot.
This also means that fans will have to wait a little while longer for the finale of the sequel trilogy. You can now expect it to arrive on December 20, 2019, a touch later than originally planned May release.
Of course, Abrams’ return comes after Ron Howard was tapped to take over direction of the Han Solo stand-alone flick. Disney’s decision to reinstate Abrams suggests the franchise is sticking to blue-chip directors for the foreseeable future.
