Star Wars: Episode IX has a new, albeit very familiar director following the departure of Colin Trevorrow last week.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Lucasfilm confirmed that JJ Abrams, director of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, will be returning to the franchise to direct the currently untitled Episode IX.
"With The Force Awakens, JJ delivered everything we could have possibly hoped for, and I am so excited that he is coming back to close out this trilogy," Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said.
The directorial change is the latest in a series of departures from Star Wars films after Phil Lord and Christopher Miller stepped down from the Han Solo spin-off movie in June and Fantastic Four director Josh Trank was removed from an unknown Star Wars standalone movie in 2015.
The return of Abrams was predicted by the industry due to the success of The Force Awakens, which became the third-highest-grossing film of all time behind Avatar and Titanic after its release in 2015.
Production on the film is due to begin in February 2018, with the film scheduled to release on 24 May 2019. Episode IX will be preceded by the eighth in the series, The Last Jedi, which will be released on December 15 2017.
The Last Jedi is directed by Rian Johnson.
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