J.J. Abrams Has A Script In Place For Star Wars: Episode IX; Production To Commence In July

Filming on Star Wars: Episode IX will commence in July of this year as J.J. Abrams is now in possession of a script.

That’s the news coming out of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (h/t Screen Rant), where Abrams swung by to discuss The Play That Goes Wrong, a Broadway spin on the classic comedy that was originally dreamed up by the Mischief Theatre Company.

When it comes to that far-away galaxy, though, J.J. Abrams has been busy hashing out a screenplay with Chris Terrio (Justice League), a writer whom Abrams considers to be a “genius.” They’ve now come up with a solid foundation for the as-yet-untitled Episode IX, and it looks like the cameras will begin rolling by the end of July. After some discussion about The Force Awakens and his unexpected return to Star Wars – Abrams took over from the ousted Colin Trevorrow late last year – the conversation turns to Episode IX around the three-minute mark.

Truth be told, Star Wars: Episode IX has endured a pretty difficult spell in pre-production, and many are still wondering about the way in which J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio plan to handle General Leia’s inevitable retirement. Yes, Carrie Fisher’s untimely death raised a lot of questions for Episode IX, and though her Leia Organa was originally supposed to have a prominent role in the trilogy-capper, Fisher’s passing meant Lucasfilm has to start over from scratch – all the while ruling out any plans to resurrect the Star Wars legend via CGI.

One way or another, Star Wars: Episode IX has been scheduled for release on December 20th, 2019, with Solo: A Star Wars Story expected to take the classic saga in a radically new direction – think a heist/Western blend of Heat and…The Big Lewboski? – on May 25th of this year.