Potential ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ news just came out by way of star John Boyega, who was recently out promoting a new cancer-fighting app in the UK, and may have dropped a few big hints about the next film in the franchise. Boyega is quoted by UK Finance as saying:
“I can’t wait to start shooting the next and final leg of the franchise. The first step is growing out my hair, so you can wait for the trailer to see why.”
A couple of things to consider here, first of all, there is his comment about his hair. Any kind of hairstyle change across films like this (especially hair getting longer i.e. “growing out”) usually is an indication of a time change, so there is a good chance that ‘Episode IX’ takes place a year or so (or maybe more!) after the events of ‘The Last Jedi,’ which would make sense if they have to rebuild the Resistance and deal with the whole Leia situation off-screen. This would be a return to the style of the Original Trilogy where each film took place roughly a year or so apart with a break between the movies to give time for characters to grow and learn some tricks between their on-screen adventures. It would also fit with how JJ Abrams approached ‘The Force Awakens’ (which was to follow in the footsteps of George Lucas as closely as possible).
The next, odder thing to consider is Boyega’s comment about the film being “the next and final leg of the franchise,” which flies in the face of comments made earlier this year by Kathleen Kennedy about wanting to continue the stories of Rey, Finn, BB-8 etc. after ‘Episode IX,’ and makes me wonder who is pulling our leg and whether Boyega might be speaking about his character’s fate in ‘Episode IX.’ Could Finn die in the final chapter of THIS trilogy, thus giving his words the meaning that this is the last one for him? And even if Finn does not die, maybe this means that he is out of ‘Star Wars’ after ‘Episode IX’ and does not want to sign on for any more future movies? It is hard to tell this early in the game, especially when there is a chance he may have just misspoken, but it is very interesting nonetheless.
What are your thoughts on the matter? Feel free to share them in the comments below!
