J.J. Abrams: Directing Star Wars Episode IX was a ‘Leap of Faith’

If you've been following Star Wars news since 2015, you'll know that Colin Trevorrow was initially hired to direct the film before he was fired and replaced with J.J. Abrams. As it turns out, going onboard for Episode IX was considered a huge gamble for the Force Awakens helmer.

Talking to Fast Company, Abrams explains:

"I wasn't supposed to be there. I wasn't the guy, ya' know? I was working on some other things, and I had something else that I was assuming would be the next project, if we'd be so lucky. And then Kathy Kennedy called and said, ‘Would you really, seriously, consider coming aboard?' And once that started, it all happened pretty quickly. The whole thing was a crazy leap of faith."

As it turns out, Abrams was already pleased that he managed to come out of Force Awakens with a majority of the fanbase loving what they got. When he was asked to come back, he says that it was like ‘playing with fire.' Ultimately, it was Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy who got him to say yes. Abrams continued, "There was a moment when I literally said, ‘No,' and Kathy said, ‘You should do this.' And my first thought was, has she met someone? And then I thought, she's usually right about stuff."

Originally Episode IX was set to come out May of this year, but Lucasfilm was luckily allowed to push back the release to this December (unlike what happened with Solo). With such a short time to plan the film, I'm kind of worried about what to expect with Episode IX, but then again, I'm just hoping they follow the footsteps of Rian Johnson and add a lot of unexpected turns in the film. I don't want the movie to be some kind of ‘course correction' of The Last Jedi.

Catch Star Wars Episode IX in theaters Dec. 20.

See Also: New Star Wars: Episode IX Leak Suggests Kylo Ren Knows He's In Love With Rey