J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson rumoured replacements as Trevorrow quits Star Wars IX

Ben Arnold

·Contributor

6 September 2017 at 2:03 am

Director Colin Trevorrow will no longer be heading to a galaxy far, far away.

Lucasfilm has confirmed in a statement that the ‘Jurassic World’ helmsman is parting ways with the production, over ‘differing visions’.

“Lucasfilm and Colin Trevorrow have mutually chosen to part ways on ‘Star Wars: Episode IX,’” read the statement.

“Colin has been a wonderful collaborator throughout the development process, but we have all come to the conclusion that our visions for the project differ.

“We wish Colin the best and will be sharing more information about the film soon.”

According to reports, ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ director Rian Johnson is rumoured as a possible replacement, along with J.J. Abrams, who helmed ‘The Force Awakens’.

The Hollywood Reporter says that ‘script issues’ had become a ‘sore spot’ for Trevorrow, and that his relationship with Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy had become ‘unmanageable’.

British writer Jack Thorne, known for his work on the ‘This Is England’ series, ‘Skins’ and soon to be penning ‘La La Land’ director Damien Chazelle’s forthcoming Netflix series ‘The Eddy’, was brought in to re-work the script last month.

It comes just two months after Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the directors behind ‘The Lego Movie’, were ousted from the Han Solo spin-off, to be replaced by Ron Howard.

‘Creative differences’ were cited there too, but rumours soon began to fly that they had also fallen foul of Kennedy with their vision for the movie.

There was also turbulence in the making of ‘Rogue One’ too, with director Gareth Edwards sidelined in the movie’s edit, while ‘Bourne’ director Tony Gilroy became the ‘driving force’ in extensive reshoots the picture underwent.

And while the news of Trevorrow’s removal may concern some fans, it will please others.

Other than his stint on ‘Jurassic World’, Trevorrow had no experience at all in directing blockbuster movies, having only made his name with the indie sci-fi rom-com ‘Safety Not Guaranteed’ a few years prior.

Then came ‘The Book of Henry’ at the beginning of the summer.

It received horrifyingly bad reviews from critics, who panned it for its wayward tone – though Trevorrow only directed the movie, rather than writing it.

He tweeted at the time:

Be proud of everything you paint, even if Mom doesn't put it on the fridge.
— Colin Trevorrow (@colintrevorrow) June 15, 2017

‘Star Wars IX’ is out in May, 2019, with Rian Johnson’s ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ due for December 14.