About nine months ago, reports emerged saying that ‘Looper’ and ‘Brick’ director Rian Johnson would be taking the reins from J.J. Abrams after ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ to write and direct ‘Episode VIII’ and ‘Episode IX’. Last week, it was confirmed that Johnson would write and direct ‘Episode VIII’ during the Disney shareholder meeting that also revealed the plans for Gareth Edwards’ ‘Star Wars: Rogue One,’ but no updates were given for ‘Episode IX.’ Now, a new rumor places Abrams back in the director’s chair for the adventure in a galaxy far, far away expected in 2019.
According to Latino Review, Abrams has emerged as the frontrunner to direct ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ after Disney executives saw the work that he had put into ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens.’ Of course, the big question is whether or not he would come back. Previously, despite Abrams being vocal about his passion for the franchise, it was said that the filmmaker found the process to be crazy, especially after losing battles over pushing ‘Episode VII’ to 2016 and holding off on the first teaser release. Plus, he was in demand for other projects before ‘Star Wars VII,’ so imagine how many more options will be open to him after doing one film with Lucasfilm and the Mouse House.
Though it’s very possible for things to change between now and ‘Episode IX,’ it would really be interesting to see Johnson and Abrams team up on the third film of this new trilogy. At that point, the two of them will have had huge roles in shaping the new ‘Star Wars’ universe, so it would be quite fitting to have them both work on the final installment together. However, if that doesn’t end up coming to fruition, I’m sure that Johnson wouldn’t mind writing and directing two ‘Star Wars’ movies essentially back to back. But after seeing how George Lucas did with writing and directing all three chapters of the Prequel Trilogy, it may be beneficial to bring in another set of eyes on the projects to keep Johnson from burning out.
What do you think about J.J. Abrams directing ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ based on a treatment written by Rian Johnson? Do you think that the filmmaker behind ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ would even want to come back after his first excursion into a galaxy far, far away? Or do you think that Rian Johnson could write and direct ‘Episode VIII’ and ‘Episode IX’ by himself? Share your thoughts and theories in the comments below.
