"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is being directed by J.J. Abrams while the yet untitled "Episode VIII" will be helmed by "Looper" director Rian Johnson. According to a report from Heroic Hollywood, a rumor is going about that "Episode IX" may be helmed by "Jurassic World" director Colin Trevorrow.
The initial report stated that the Star Wars Hall H panel at the San Diego Comic-Con 2015 would walk Trevorrow out and announce him as the director, but this was later retracted. However, the report states that the helmer has been in the spotlight for "Episode IX" for months and is the most likely candidate to direct the film.
According to the report, the director has been quoted as saying: "'Jurassic Park' is like 'Star Wars.' Different directors can give a different taste to each movie ... I would be involved in some way, but not as director."
This was Trevorrow's response on why he wouldn't return to direct a sequel to "Jurassic World" but the report from Heroic Hollywood points out that he specifically mentioned "Star Wars" in his comments, indicating that he may be up for "Episode IX" if not one of the "Star Wars Anthology" films.
It's not like Trevorrow doesn't have the right connections. "Jurassic World" was produced by Frank Marshall, the husband of Kathleen Kennedy who is the president of LucasFilm and an executive producer of the "Star Wars" films. However, the report states that Trevorrow may get the job not just because of who he's worked with before but also because of the massive success of "Jurassic World."
As pointed out in a report from Slash Film, this is just a rumor and there have been no officially confirmations from LucasFilm, Disney, or Trevorrow. He might have already been signed on to direct or there might have never been any negotiations to take him on the project at all.
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" hits theaters this Dec. 18 while "Episode VIII" follows on May 26, 2017. "Episode IX" has a tentative release date of summer 2019.
