It was exactly one week ago that LucasFilm made the blockbuster announcement thatColin Trevorrowwas out as the director ofStar Wars 9, and today the studio announced that J.J. Abrams will replace him at the helm. While that was obviously massive news, the studio also made another announcement, revealing that J.J. Abrams will be co-writing the script with franchise newcomer Chris Terrio, best known for writingBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justiceand the upcomingJustice League. The studio didn’t divulge any story details, but it seems likely that both J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio may be starting over from scratch.
TheLucasFilmannouncement revealed that J.J. Abrams will produce with his Bad Robot company and Michelle Rejwan, alongside LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy. Back in August, it was revealed thatJack Thornehas come aboard to rewrite the script, which was originally written by Colin Trevorrow and his longtime writing partner Derek Connolly. No details were given about what new approach Jack Thorne was going to use, but since he wasn’t mentioned in LucasFilm’s official announcement, it’s probably safe to say that he’s no longer involved.
It’s worth noting that this news almost parallels certain aspects of theStar Wars: The Force Awakensdevelopment. Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine,Toy Story 3) was first tasked with writing the screenplay, even before J.J. Abrams came on board to direct in January 2013. Ten months later in October 2013, it was revealed that J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan would take over the writing duties from Michael Arndt, and shortly thereafter, a June 28, 2025 release date was set, making it the firstStar Wars movieto not receive a May release. While that was a somewhat controversial point among die-hard fans, it didn’t stop them from coming to theaters in record numbers, setting a new domestic box office record with $936.6 million.
It has been rumored that Colin Trevorrow’s unceremonious exit was due to issues with the script, since he and Derek Connolly could reportedly never deliver a draft that the studio was happy with. There was talk that, immediately after Colin Trevorrow’s departure,Star Wars: The Last Jediwriter and directorRian Johnsonwas the top candidate to take over the helm onStar Wars 9, since it has been said that he has worked quite well with Kathleen Kennedy and everyone at LucasFilm. The director revealed just yesterday, though, during a Japanese press event forThe Last Jedi, that it was never the plan for him to directStar Wars 9, even though there were initially rumors that he was being tapped to write and direct bothStar Wars 8andStar Wars 9.
Still, while LucasFilm has brought backJ.J. Abramsinto the fold, they’re also getting some “fresh eyes,” so to speak, with co-writer Chris Terrio, who has had a meteoric rise through the filmmaking ranks over the past few years. He made his writing and directing debut with the indie dramaHeightsin 2005, which starred Elizabeth Banks, Glenn Close and James Marsden. Seven years later, he won an Oscar for writing the screenplay for Best Picture winnerArgo, which lead to him writingBatman v. Superman: Dawn of Justicestarring hisArgodirector Ben Affleck, and bothJustice Leaguemovies, along with the upcomingRichard IIfor director James Ivory. Hopefully we’ll find out more about his approach toStar Wars 9very soon, as we inch closer and closer to the August 17, 2025 release date.
