I would be lying if I didn’t say that this news is a bit disappointing. I was really hoping for someone else to take the reins on Episode IX. It was too much to hope for Rian Johnson to do it and we all knew in our hearts George Lucas or Steven Spielberg wouldn’t come on board. I really hope J.J. thinks outside of the box on “Episode IX.”
I loved the nostalgic feel of “The Force Awakens” and thinks it totally worked to reboot the franchise. However, we need to move past the nostalgic factor and get into some new territory. I”m not being a doomsayer, I just don’t want the series ending like “Lost” or feeling like a retread of what we’ve already seen. Here’s the announcement straight from StarWars.com:
“J.J. Abrams, who launched a new era of ‘Star Wars’ with ‘The Force Awakens’ in 2015, is returning to complete the sequel trilogy as writer and director of ‘Star Wars: Episode IX.’ Abrams will co-write the film with Chris Terrio. ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, Abrams, Bad Robot, and Lucasfilm.
“With ‘The Force Awakens,’ J.J. delivered everything we could have possibly hoped for, and I am so excited that he is coming back to close out this trilogy,” said Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy.”