StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Colin Trevorrow is no longer directing Star Wars: Episode IX, Lucasfilm said Tuesday.

"Lucasfilm and Colin Trevorrow have mutually chosen to part ways on Star Wars: Episode IX. 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," read a Lucasfilm statement.

Rumors of Trevorrow’s departure have dogged the project since early June, weeks before the opening of The Book of Henry, his thriller that was panned by critics and failed at the box office.

Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that script issues have continued to be a sore spot throughout Episode IX’s development, with Trevorrow having repeated stabs at multiple drafts. In August, Jack Thorne, the British scribe who wrote the upcoming Julia Roberts-Jacob Tremblay movie Wonder, was tapped to work on the script.

Sources say that the working relationship between Trevorrow and Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy became unmanageable. Kennedy, who had already been through one director firing/replacement on the Han Solo spinoff movie, was not eager for a sequel and tried to avoid this decision.

In June, Phil Lord and Chris Miller were fired from the Han Solo stand-alone with only a few weeks left in principal photography. The two were later replaced by Ron Howard, who is finishing out production in London.

Rumors are already circulating as to possible replacements for Trevorrow. Rian Johnson, who is in post for The Last Jedi (Episode VIII), has been mentioned as a possibility, returning to the franchise. J.J. Abrams, who successfully helmed Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has also emerged as a top contender.

Trevorrow's departure now marks the fourth time directors have been replaced on a Star Wars project. Tony Gilroy took over from Gareth Edwards for massive reshoots on 2016's Rogue One. And Josh Trank was taken off of a Star Wars anthology film after reports arose about the helmer's disturbing behavior on the set of Fox's Fantastic Four reboot. Like Trank, Trevorrow's exit occured before the movie has started shooting.

Trevorrow first made waves with Sundance hit Safety Not Guaranteed. The indie sci-fi dramedy caught the attention of Steven Spielberg and Universal, who put Trevorrow at the helm of the Jurassic Park reboot, Jurassic World. The movie went on to gross a mammoth $1.6 billion at the global box office. After that success, the director was tapped to write and direct Episode IX, the supposed end to the Skywalker saga that would follow Johnson's The Last Jedi (due out Dec. 15).

Trevorrow has several projects in various stages of development, including a Jurassic World follow-up, which he co-wrote and executive produced. Prior to getting Episode IX, Trevorrow was attached to direct Intelligent Life, a sci-fi thriller set up at Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment that he wrote with writing partner Derek Connolly. (Rebecca Thomas has since taken over as director.)

Back in July, THR spoke to Trevorrow at the Ischia Global Film and Music Fest and asked about the then-recent Lord and Miller exit from the Han Solo film. "Movies are very personal, and art is very personal, and for people to try to turn that into something that is salacious or something that will get clicks is frustrating and sad for me because I know that [movies] mean a lot to everyone involved," he said. "And everybody involved in that movie is passionate about it and worked on it very hard and continues to work on it very hard."

Gandalf wrote: ↑2017-09-05 10:40pm I wager they'll try for someone who's doing well at Marvel. But I base this on nothing.

Adam Reynolds wrote: ↑2017-09-06 02:33amI also heard that the actor they chose for Han Solo needed an acting coach, which is also odd.

Though one almost wonders if this is a directorial or a producing problem. 4-5 directors doing this poorly means that Lucasfilm is either bad at picking them or bad at letting them do their jobs.

Q99 wrote: ↑2017-09-06 10:08am Having personally written a script or directed has nothing to do with it- being able to make sure the director's stories succeed and match does. And she's done a good job of it so far, so I find saying she doesn't have the 'authority' after two successful movies to be questionable. If TLJ turns out good, all the more-so.

eMeM wrote: ↑2017-09-06 03:09am Anyone but Abrams, please.

Adam Reynolds wrote: ↑2017-09-06 12:52pmThough ME1 legitimately had the best writing in terms of the overall story, which I seriously doubt is true with TFA.

Q99 wrote: ↑2017-09-06 10:08am Having personally written a script or directed has nothing to do with it- being able to make sure the director's stories succeed and match does. And she's done a good job of it so far, so I find saying she doesn't have the 'authority' after two successful movies to be questionable. If TLJ turns out good, all the more-so.

Galvatron wrote: ↑2017-09-06 12:25pm Quite frankly, I admire Kennedy's commitment to getting these movies right whether it means replacing directors or ordering extensive reshoots. She has such an extensive filmography of successes that I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

Galvatron wrote: ↑2017-09-06 03:26pm Kevin Feige seems to be doing just fine as Kennedy's counterpart for the MCU under Disney's reign. Sure, there have been some minor missteps and they've lost a few directors, but the overall franchise keeps on trucking.

I also think we'll never see the day that they have difficulty finding any up and coming directors that are willing to film a Star Wars movie.

Galvatron wrote: ↑2017-09-06 11:44pm It sounds to me like the vision is as much (or even more) Kasdan's as it is Kennedy's, which means the story arc is in good hands.

http://screenrant.com/han-solo-movie-di ... nce-kasdan

This is also why I'd like to see Joe Johnston get the gig. He has a Star Wars pedigree that reaches all the way back to ANH, has proven himself a capable director more than once and he's already given Disney one good MCU movie.

Ray245 wrote:But those are different from having the authority to actually decide if the writer/director is worse than her.

She will always be under constant challenge from directors over who is better at storytelling itself.

Q99 wrote: ↑2017-09-08 10:31am No, she not only has such authority but has already exercised it well- the reshoots of R1 showed she knows exactly what she's doing. And authority is a matter of job, she already had that, but what she's done is proven she can wield it well.

This strikes me as a weird semantic game to undercut her position in your personal view. When you're talking someone who has already used this power well, you seem to be arguing about closing the barn door after the horse has already left and won the race.

She really isn't.

I don't think you have a good idea of how the studio system works, plus there's the matter of her having a proven track record.

You may think otherwise, but the job and related authorities has nothing to do with what you think.