Star Wars: Episode IX needs a new director after Lucasfilm announced on Tuesday that Colin Treverrow (Jurassic World) is no longer at the helm.
The studio cites creative differences over the reason the two parties have mutually agreed to break off the deal.
“Lucasfilm and Colin Trevorrow have mutually chosen to part ways on Star Wars: Episode IX,” a statement says on the official Star Wars website. “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.”
The Hollywood Reporter says the script has been a problem during the production with Treverrow taking a crack at multiple drafts. Treverrow and his Jurassic World co-writer Derek Connolly were initially hired to write the script. THR said Jack Thorne, writer of the script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, was brought on to look over the Episode IX script in August after “a fresh set of eyes was needed.”
A bad working relationship was formed between Treverrow and co-producer Kathleen Kennedy, according to the THR report. The publication says the producer wanted to avoid this after a director replacement just happened on the Han Solo film in June.
Treverrow was announced as director in August 2015 at Disney’s D23 expo.
This marks the third high-profile exit of a director from a Star Wars film. Aside from Ron Howard (Apollo 13) taking over directing duties from Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The LEGO Movie) on the Han Solo film after the two reportedly had troubles with Kennedy, Josh Trank (Chronicle) said he personally left what was going to be a Boba Fett movie. Though a THR report said he was fired after a bizarre production directing Fantastic Four, Trank later denied that report.
On top of all that, director Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) was always on hand during the entirety of the production of Rogue One, but Tony Gilroy (The Bourne Legacy) came on to take head of post-production duties.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi, single-handedly directed by Rian Johnson (Looper), will be released on Dec. 15. Next up for the franchise is the Han Solo movie on May 25 and then Episode IX on May 24, 2019.
So, for the tally:
New Star Wars Movies that Did Not Have a Director Shakeup: Episode VII, Episode VIII
New Star Wars Movies that Had a Director Shakeup: Rogue One, Boba Fett, Han Solo, Episode IX aka everything else
To anybody who wants to direct a Star Wars movie, may the force be with you.