While the entire Star Wars fanbase has its crosshairs placed firmly upon Solo, we now have some new intel pertaining to Colin Trevorrow’s exit from Episode IX. And it comes from the man himself.
Empire Magazine caught up with the writer-director-producer in anticipation of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, for which he provided the script alongside frequent collaborator Derek Connolly – the duo were initially hired for Star Wars: Episode IX, too, before creative differences meant J.J. Abrams (and co-writer Chris Terrio!) took point at the helm.
All of this has fuelled wild speculation among the Star Wars community, particularly when you consider that Solo endured director drama of its own – ditto for Rogue One, though its problems can largely be traced back to a convoluted third act, one which Tony Gilroy straightened out during the film’s extensive reshoots.
As for Trevorrow? Well, he’s now addressed his decision to “mutually part ways” with Lucasfilm…
Per Empire, Colin Trevorrow stressed that, above all else, he was grateful for the experience, as writing for the likes of Luke, Leia and C-3PO is something he had been dreaming about since he was just a little kid enamored by that galaxy far, far away.
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. 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.
Just prior to Trevorrow’s departure, we learned that screenwriter Jack Thorne had come in to polish the script for Star Wars: Episode IX, so perhaps that creative input had something to do with the switcheroo. Either that, or Colin Trevorrow had big plans for Luke Skywalker – you know, until The Last Jedi rolled around.