New ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ Details Confirm Time-Jump After ‘The Last Jedi’

Many Star Wars fans are used to big time jumps between installments in the Skywalker saga. In fact, the only films that DIDN’T have a significant gap between events came in the latest trilogy, with Star Wars: The Last Jedi picking up right after the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The next film in the saga is getting back to basics and embracing tradition, as Empire Magazine reports that Star Wars: Episode IX will take place one year after the previous film in the franchise.

Empire’s 2019 movie preview offers one of our first confirmed details for J.J. Abrams return to the franchise, indicating that some time will pass from the moment Luke Skywalker sacrificed his life to humiliate his nephew and give the Resistance a chance to escape the might of the First Order.

Little else is known about the upcoming Star Wars movie, which is set to wrap up the Skywalker saga with the ninth film in the series. Poe Dameron actor Oscar Isaac, making his third cinematic appearance, said the production process is much looser in Abrams’ return to the director’s chair.

“The way they’ve been shooting it right now is looser than it’s been for the last two times,” Isaac said an interview with IndieWire. “It does feel like a relief to get on set and feel like, ‘Oh, we can try things.’ It’s a testament to J.J. coming back and feeling confident. There’s less pressure for it to be right. We just want to make a good movie and have a really good time while doing it.”

This contrasts with previous experiences on film sets, Isaac said.

“Often, you do feel like you’ve got to find your way to make something more alive, but this time, it’s been the opposite. There’s no need to smuggle anything in there.”

Despite making over $1 billion at the box office, some fans didn’t respond well to The Last Jedi, but Isaac isn’t taking the criticisms to heart.

“Luckily, since I’m not directing it, producing it, or distributing it, I don’t have to worry so much about fan expectations,” Isaac said. “Also, not all fans have the same expectations … People had very strong feelings, but there wasn’t as much of an organized way to speak out about it.

“People that run blogs and websites need content. So it’s like, ‘There’s some content!’ Five people on Twitter. Hundreds. Whatever it is. Then you make it into a story.”

Star Wars: Episode IX premieres in theaters in December 2019.