J.J. Abrams To Direct And Write Star Wars: Episode IX; Release Date Changed

It didn't take too long for Disney/Lucasfilm to find another director for Star Wars: Episode IX. This is because J.J. Abrams has been announced to overtake Colin Trevorrow. Abrams already directed Star Wars: The Force Awakens two years ago which was a financial success.

Lucasfilm made the announcement today on StarWars.com. Abrams is not only directing the film, but he is also co-writing it. The other co-writer is Chris Terrio.

Terrio wrote the Academy Award winning film Argo. In more recent years, Terrio has co-wrote the script for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League.

"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 other big piece of news revealed is the release date. Star Wars: Episode IX was going to be released in May 2019, but now it has been pushed back. The new release date is now December 20, 2019.

This is only one week after the release of Wonder Woman 2. Warner Bros. may have to change the release date of Wonder Woman 2 to avoid losing money to Star Wars!

In related news, Deadline reports that Rian Johnson was approached to direct Star Wars: Episode IX, but he didn't want to do it. This is why Lucasfilm went with the next choice which ended up being J.J. Abrams. Abrams got along with Lucasfilm during the filming of The Force Awakens so he's unlikely going to have creative differences.

Colin Trevorrow was ousted from the film because Luacsfilm were not happy with his script. It has also been mentioned that Lucasfilm felt he was difficult to manage so he was let go from the coveted position.

Wanna read more on this? Check these out: Daisy Ridley Cried (With Joy) About J.J. Abrams Coming Back For Star Wars: Episode IX (more); Kathleen Kennedy Would Like Taika Waititi To Direct A Star Wars Movie (more); New Star Wars Trilogy Won't Be Based On KOTOR (more); The First Cut Of Star Wars: The Last Jedi Was Over Three Hours Long (more).

And here are some more related articles: Star Wars: The Last Jedi Is Already Selling Lots Of Tickets Two Weeks Before Release (more); Early Box Office Prediction For Star Wars: The Last Jedi Shows A Huge Opening Weekend (more); Rian Johnson Talks Why Lando Is Not In Star Wars: The Last Jedi (more).

A few more: Star Wars: The Last Jedi Director Confirms The Film's Lengthy Runtime (more); A New Star Wars Movie Trilogy Planned Alongside A Live Action TV Series (more).