Soon after the dust settled from The Force Awakens, and the Internet slowly began to pull itself together once more, J.J. Abrams was quoted as saying that the screenplay for The Last Jedi – then known as simply Star Wars: Episode VIII – was so good, so compelling, that he wish he had the chance to direct December’s upcoming sequel himself.
Of course, that onus has since been placed on Rian Johnson, director of Looper, Brick and various episodes of Breaking Bad. And though early rumors claimed Johnson had a hand in writing the script for Star Wars: Episode IX, the filmmaker took to Twitter earlier this week to set the record straight. First spotted by CBM, one curious fan asked Rian Johnson if he penned an early treatment for Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow – the creative driving force behind Episode IX – to which he replied:
https://twitter.com/rianjohnson/status/856543771353272321
Fresh off their resurrection of the Jurassic Park franchise – indeed, both creators helped pen the screenplay for 2018’s Jurassic World 2 – Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow have now plot course for a galaxy far, far away. The latter has been elected at the helm of Star Wars: Episode IX, which was one of many Disney tentpoles to lock in a release date earlier this week. And so, as the likes of Indiana Jones 5, Frozen 2 and Jon Favreau’s live-action rendition of The Lion King staked out dates, Trevorrow’s Star Wars pic set its sights on May 24th, 2019.
It’s a similar launch window that has been reserved for Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s Han Solo anthology pic, and it seems that after years spent dominating the Christmas corridor, Disney is eyeing a slice of the summer box office fortune. Next up for the Mouse House is the release of The Last Jedi on December 15th of this year.