Colin Trevorrow is no longer directing Star Wars Episode IX and that’s perfectly OK. There were rumors this Summer that Trevorrow would be dropped after the less-than-stellar reviews for his film Book of Henry.
The following was posted onto StarWars.com
Lucasfilm and Colin Trevorrow have mutually chosen to part ways on Star Wars: Episode IX. Colin has been a wonderful collaborator throughout the development process but we have all come to the conclusion that our visions for the project differ. We wish Colin the best and will be sharing more information about the film soon.
Disney has already had two problems with directors on their Star Wars films and I think they are course-correcting to make sure this doesn’t happen with the end of their beloved Skywalker Franchise.
1.) Tony Gilroy was brought into help Gareth Edwards on Rogue One. Kathleen Kennedy and company looked at the footage and said that the ending needed help. They brought in a more experienced writer/director and were all the better for it; because the end of R1 is amazing.
2.) Chris Miller and Phil Lord were recently fired from the Han Solo film and replaced by much more experienced director Ron Howard. It was a safe move and probably the right one. He’ll make the movie that Lawrence Kasdan wrote and won’t throw in a lot of improv that makes it an all-out comedy.
According to The Hollywood Reporter,
“…script issues have continued to be the continuing sore spot with Episode IX’s development with Trevorrow having had repeated stabs at multiple drafts….” and “Sources say that the working relationship between Trevorrow and Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy became unmanageable. Kennedy, who had already been through one director firing/replacement on the Han Solo spin-off, was not eager for a sequel and tried to avoid this decision.”
When Disney bought LucasFilm a few years ago, we knew that we’d be getting new films and a unified canon between books, tv, comics, and movies. This is a billion dollar MACHINE that needs to run smoothly and if Trevorrow, a director who only has done 3 films, isn’t the guy for it; then I stand by Kennedy’s decision.
So, who will take over the director spot? I’d expect we’ll be learning of the new person soon, as they will need to start filming the movie in the very near future. Deadline suggests that Rian Johnson is the frontrunner to take over the film. I’d also like to see J. J. Abrams return to the mantle. As more news develops on this story, stay tooned here to DFAT.
Star Wars Episode IX is scheduled for release May 24, 2019.
