Greg Grunberg Returning For 'Star Wars: Episode IX'

With Star Wars: Episode IX having started production nearly a month ago, a number of additional cast members have been announced recently that were absent from the initial casting announcements. Greg Grunberg, who played Snap Wexley in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has reportedly been confirmed to be reprising his role in the film.

After a variety of clues teased that the actor would return to the series, Discussing Film claims to have reached out to his representatives and confirmed that Grunberg would be in the film.

Last month, Grunberg teased that he would be returning to the franchise, which would require him to grow a beard, even if his wife wasn't a fan of the look.

"You know what — we'd better [return] or else my wife is going to kill me for growing a beard," Grunberg shared with Yahoo! News. "I can't officially say anything, but this is getting itchy, and I'm getting itchy to go over there and do it."

The actor has collaborated with director JJ Abrams in multiple projects, including LOST, Alias, and Mission: Impossible III, so his appearance in Abrams' Star Wars film didn't surprise fans of the filmmaker. Snap Wexley didn't appear in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, though the Poe Dameron comic book from Marvel revealed that he and other members of Black Squadron were carrying out a mission that prevented them from assisting Dameron.

Even if Grunberg didn't personally appear in The Last Jedi, that hasn't stopped him from getting roped into the backlash from fans that didn't enjoy the directions writer/director Rian Johnson took the series. However, his experience working with Abrams and the polarizing reactions audiences have had to those projects helped him prepare to handle detractors.

"I get it all the time. I'm trying to watch my son play baseball, and someone goes, 'You know what I thought JJ should have done?' I'm like, 'Can I just watch my kid?' It comes along with the territory," Grunberg joked.

The actor isn't the only frequent Abrams collaborator who is appearing in the upcoming film, with the confirmation that Felicity star Keri Russell would appear in the film in some capacity also having recently been revealed.

"It is just so much more fun to work with someone that you like so much," Russell shared with Deadline of her reunion with Abrams. "I mean, we see each other and then we talk nonstop and fill in all the details of the past years, and you know, it's just nice when you have that kind of fun and history with someone. It makes it all that much more enjoyable. When JJ calls so unexpectedly, cool things happen."

Episode IX will be landing in theaters in December of 2019.

Are you happy to see the character return for the sequel? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

[H/T Twitter, DiscussingFilm]