Editorial Staff
Knowing he’ll be a good little Jimmy Josephine Abrams (that’s his name right!?) and simply sit quietly in the corner with his crayons, colouring on paper with the Lucasfilm letterhead on it, sipping from a juice box while five studio accountants play point and shoot, the “Force Awakens” helmer has been anointed the new writer-director of Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars Episode IX”.
With “Jurassic World” helmer Colin Trevorrow given his marching orders last week, the race has been on to find a suitable, assumingly “less opinionated” (rumour is Trevorrow thought R2 needed a girlfriend and wanted the X-Wings to “sparkle” at dusk. In all seriousness, I think we know exactly where the problem lies.. and it’s not on the filmmakers side) helmer for the new film. Rian Johnson, director of this Christmas’s “The Last Jedi”, was apparently approached to return but he knocked back the offer — which says a lot (or maybe it says nothing and he’s simply headed off to do that long-awaited “Brothers Bloom 2”). David Lynch, who has been blocking calls from Lucasfilm since 1982, was also not available. Funnily enough. And Dennis Dugan was flat out simply not asked. Which left the studio with the only reasonable and feasible choice : Jack Jermaime Abrams.
Abrams, who – with the assistance of two thousand others – single-handedly rescued the “Star Wars” brand from Jar Jar’s sarlac pit with his triumphant “The Force Awakens” in 2015, has been asked back to helm the final instalment in this current trilogy.
SERIOUS moment. Gonna be honest, the man (Abrams) is a damn fine filmmaker. He did a ripper job on “Force Awakens” and proves a very safe best with the new film – “Ewok Sanitarium” or whatever they call it. I think he’ll close this thing with style. Plus it’ll be awesome to see Keri Russell wield a lightsaber (surely that’ll happen, right?).
The powers-that-be over at Lucasfilm and Disney just posted the following :
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. Abrams will co-write the film with Chris Terrio. Star Wars: Episode IX will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, Abrams, Bad Robot, and Lucasfilm.
“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.
Welcome back, JJ! Lens do this.. er, Let’s do this!
And let’s also take this opportunity to congratulate Trevorrow on his spot in that increasingly popular “fired Star Wars Directors” support group. To be a fly on the wall in that thing …
