Colin Trevorrow Speaks Out on ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ Exit

This past September, the Star Wars Universe when through yet another directorial shake-up when it was announced that Jurrasic World-helmer Colin Trevorrow, who was originally set to direct Episode IX, was mutually parting ways with Lucasfilm.

Now, nearly nine months after his departure was announced, Trevorrow is finally breaking his silence on the subject. While speaking with Empire, the director said that he will “cherish” the experience he had while preparing for his Star Wars film.

“I don’t want to talk too much about it because I don’t want to affect the way that fans get to see these films,” he said. “When we were kids, these movies came to us from far away. They were a gift. And the more we talk about how they’re made, the more it reveals that they’re just movies. But they’re not just movies, they’re more than that. Beyond that, I got the opportunity to tell a story that is a celebration of everything I believe in, I got to tell it to George Lucas and I got to tell it to Luke Skywalker, and those are experiences I will cherish for the rest of my life.”

As we know by now, Trevorrow wasn’t out of work for long. After breaking records with Jurassic World in 2015, the director will be heading back to that franchise to direct another installment. J.A. Bayona took over with this summer’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, but Trevorrow will return to the director’s chair for the third movie.

The Star Wars franchise went in a similar direction when looking for Trevorrow’s replacement. After Rian Johnson helmed last year’s The Last Jedi, J.J. Abrams will be returning to direct Episode IX. Abrams previously directed Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the seventh installment in the franchise.

Trevorrow originally wrote the script for Episode IX with longtime collaborator Derek Connolly, who previously helped him pen the screenplays for both Jurassic World films. Lucasfilm eventually brought Jack Thorne on to rewrite Trevorrow and Connolly’s script, but that version of the film has since been scrapped. Abrams and co-writer Chris Terrio are now working on a brand new script for Episode IX.

What do you think of the choice to replace Colin Trevorrow with J.J. Abrams? Was this the right call for Lucasfilm and Disney? Let us know your thoughts on the decision in the comments below!

Star Wars: Episode IX, the final chapter of the Skywalker Saga, is set to hit theaters on December 20, 2019.