Yet another disturbance in the Force arrived on Tuesday at the announcement that J.J. Abrams will be taking over the recently vacated director’s chair for Star Wars: Episode IX. Former director Colin Trevorrow left Lucasfilm and Episode IX behind in an upsetting (but not totally unsurprising) move this past week, and it seems a controversial script writer might have left with him.
Lucasfilm released a statement via StarWars.com on Tuesday that Abrams, who directed Star Wars: The Force Awakens, will be stepping into the director role again for the as-yet-unnamed Episode IX. According to the announcement, “Abrams will co-write the film with Chris Terrio,” which is both expected and a bit surprising, considering that one name has been conveniently left out.
Jack Thorne, best known for his part in co-writing the disputed Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, might have been quietly thrown out of the Episode IX writers’ room.
If Thorne’s name being left out isn’t an oversight on Lucasfilm’s part, then the move is reminiscent of how Abrams once ditched writer Michael Arndt from the Force Awakens script; he was replaced with Lawrence Kasdan. Abrams only casually dropped Arndt’s name in interviews later on. Will the same happen with Thorne?
Star Wars: Episode IX is expected to premiere in theaters on May 24, 2019.
