Colin Trevorrow, best known for directing this year’s Jurassic World, has signed on to direct Star Wars Episode IX, Disney has announced, although the film itself is not set to begin production for another couple years. Speaking at D23 yesterday, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said:
“Colin is someone I’ve been interested in working with ever since I saw Safety Not Guaranteed. The power of that film paired with the enormous success of Jurassic World speaks volumes about his abilities both as a storyteller and skilled filmmaker. We are thrilled to have such an incredible talent as Colin join our family and step into the Star Wars universe.”
For his part, Trevorrow also released a statement about signing on to direct the third film in a new Star Wars trilogy, saying:
“This is not a job or an assignment. It is a seat at a campfire, surrounded by an extraordinary group of storytellers, filmmakers, artists, and craftspeople. We’ve been charged with telling new stories for a younger generation because they deserve what we all had–a mythology to call their own. We will do this by channeling something George Lucas instilled in all of us: boundless creativity, pure invention, and hope.”
Star Wars Episode IX will be the third film in a new trilogy which is to start with this years Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, which is being directed by J.J. Abrams, while Rian Johnson, who is best known for directing Looper, is set to direct Episode VIII, which is due to release in about 2017, spacing each of the installments two years apart release wise.
Other Star Wars news coming from D23 yesterday includes the first official cast photo from the spin-off Rogue One, which you can see below. Rogue One is set before the events of A New Hope, and stars:
- Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)
- Diego Luna (Milk)
- Ben Mendelsohn (Bloodline)
- Donnie Yen (Blade II)
- Jiang Wen (Let the Bullets Fly)
- Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland)
- Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale)
- Alan Tudyk (I, Robot)
- Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler)
