Well, that was quick. Lucasfilm made it official this morning that JJ Abrams would, in fact, be taking over directing duties from Colin Trevorrow on ‘Star Wars: Episode 9′. The decision doesn’t come as a surprise to many who have been speculating that either JJ or Rian Johnson would be the frontrunners to take over the project and in fact, both JJ Abrams and Rian Johnson topped our list we released last week of directors we’d like to see take over the project. Going with JJ isn’t the sexiest move Lucasfilm could have made, but it’s the smartest one. JJ is already familiar with the universe and will provide a steadying hand to a property that for the most part has been in shaky hands since he left, with the exception of Rian Johnson. He’s proven that he works well with Kathleen Kennedy and has made comments in the past that showed a bit of regret towards not being able to direct future Episodes. Luckily, JJ doesn’t have to worry about that anymore.
We’ve attached the full statement from Lucasfilm below.
