'Star Wars: Episode 9' Release Date Pushed Back to December 2019 With J.J. Abrams at the Helm
"Star Wars Episode 9" has been delayed.
It was recently announced that the final film in the new trilogy will no longer be premiering on May 24, 2019. Instead, "Episode 9" will be swapping places with Disney's live-action "Aladdin," which was originally scheduled to arrive in cinemas Dec. 20 of the same year.
The change in its release date puts all three "Star Wars" films in the new trilogy for December premieres. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" arrived in December 2015 and "The Last Jedi" is set to be released in the same month later this year.
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The delay is presumably because of the changes that took place behind the scenes. Colin Trevorrow was initially going to direct the yet-to-be titled "Episode 9," but he left the post due to creative differences with Lucasfilm. Deadline previously reported that J.J. Abrams, who helmed "The Force Awakens," was in talks to replace Trevorrow. Now, Lucasfilm has confirmed the news.
"J.J. Abrams, who launched a new era of Star Wars with The Force Awakens in 2015, is returning to complete the sequel trilogy as writer and director of Star Wars: Episode IX," a statement from Starwars.com read.
"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," Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy said.
Abrams will write the screenplay with Chris Terrio. He is also going to be producing the tentpole through his Bad Robot production company.
As previously reported, filming is set to begin in January 2018. When Trevorrow was still in charge, he teased a "richly satisfying" ending to the trilogy. Fans had started doubting Trevorrow's skills after his film, "The Book of Henry," received negative reviews. They can now rest assured knowing that "Episode 9" will be in the hands of Abrams, who has already proven himself with "The Force Awakens."
