Colin Trevorrow Out for Episode IX

Colin Trevorrow, the director of “Jurassic World” initially tapped to helm the next “Star Wars” movie, 2019’s Episode IX, was dismissed after Ms. Kennedy grew unhappy with his work on the script, said a person with knowledge of his work on the movie.

A firm and decisive hand is needed in running a major Hollywood franchise, and Ms. Kennedy’s supporters say she has worked well with J.J. Abrams, director of 2015’s “The Force Awakens,” and Rian Johnson on last year’s “The Last Jedi.” Others say she has too frequently second-guessed her own choices and hasn’t effectively resolved disagreements with directors.

Mr. Johnson said he felt Ms. Kennedy gave him a “creative bubble” that empowered him “to tell the story I cared about in the way I wanted to tell it.”

Mr. Abrams said he had differences of opinion “all the time” with Ms. Kennedy, but that she “really takes in what people say and finds a creative way to aggregate and distill the conversation.”

The next “Star Wars” movie, Episode IX, is expected to start shooting in July, but its director drama is already in full swing.

Ms. Kennedy was a fan of Mr. Trevorrow’s work from his independent film “Safety Not Guaranteed” and recommended him to her husband Frank Marshall, who produced “Jurassic World.” Soon after the dinosaur blockbuster was released in 2015, Mr. Trevorrow was hired to write and direct Episode IX and successfully pitched Ms. Kennedy, Mr. Horn and Disney chief executive Robert Iger on his vision for the sequel, said the person with knowledge of his work.

But Ms. Kennedy was unhappy with drafts Mr. Trevorrow co-wrote and one written by “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” playwright Jack Thorne for him to direct. Mr. Trevorrow wasn’t satisfied with Mr. Thorne’s script either and asked to try again, the person close to Episode IX said, but Ms. Kennedy instead fired Mr. Trevorrow last August.

Lucasfilm considered rehiring Mr. Johnson, a person with knowledge of the matter said, though the director said there were no serious discussions. Instead, Mr. Abrams took the job after Ms. Kennedy called him following Mr. Trevorrow’s exit.

“I don't want to talk too much about it because I don't want to affect the way that fans get to see these films,” he said. “When we were kids, these movies came to us from far away. They were a gift. And the more we talk about how they're made, the more it reveals that they're just movies. But they're not just movies, they're more than that. Beyond that, I got the opportunity to tell a story that is a celebration of everything I believe in, I got to tell it to George Lucas and I got to tell it to Luke Skywalker, and those are experiences I will cherish for the rest of my life."

@Kylo Rey wrote:Colin Trevorrow Talks His Star Wars Episode IX Exit

“I don't want to talk too much about it because I don't want to affect the way that fans get to see these films,” he said. “When we were kids, these movies came to us from far away. They were a gift. And the more we talk about how they're made, the more it reveals that they're just movies. But they're not just movies, they're more than that. Beyond that, I got the opportunity to tell a story that is a celebration of everything I believe in, I got to tell it to George Lucas and I got to tell it to Luke Skywalker, and those are experiences I will cherish for the rest of my life."

Interestingly he divulged the story outline for Episode IX to Mark Hamill and George Lucas.

@SoloSideCousin wrote:

@Kylo Rey wrote:Colin Trevorrow Talks His Star Wars Episode IX Exit

“I don't want to talk too much about it because I don't want to affect the way that fans get to see these films,” he said. “When we were kids, these movies came to us from far away. They were a gift. And the more we talk about how they're made, the more it reveals that they're just movies. But they're not just movies, they're more than that. Beyond that, I got the opportunity to tell a story that is a celebration of everything I believe in, I got to tell it to George Lucas and I got to tell it to Luke Skywalker, and those are experiences I will cherish for the rest of my life."

Interestingly he divulged the story outline for Episode IX to Mark Hamill and George Lucas.

@Kylo Rey

Didn't Mark say something about liking Colin's vision, or am I just imagining that?

 "The changes in the directors have been hard for me because I admire Phil so much. I admire Chris so much. I admire Colin, and their body of work. But again, it's got to be really difficult to come to a meeting of minds on something this massive. I had discussions with Colin. I was very excited because we were on the same page in terms of where we wanted to go and how we wanted to see Luke in a way that we never seen him. Even in this current version. But I don't know what went on. I don't want to know because there is no upside to that story. I like all those people. I like Kathy, and I like Lawrence Kasdan and all the people involve in that decision, but sometimes ignorance is bliss. And they don't tell me anything [laughs]."

“We assumed that Leia would be more prominent in IX, especially since the dynamic of having Kylo Ren as her son. I think it'd be tough recasting only because she's so indelibly linked with that character... I know that the script had been developed enough so that when we lost her, they had to go back to square one. She's irreplaceable, you know, as far as I'm concerned.”

@Mielikki wrote:@Kylo Rey

Sorry, I’m getting all confused by the timeline here.
So Trevorrow wrote the script for Episode IX with Luke in it somewhere between 2015 and 2017, right?
But TLJ had it’s script ready before TFA got released in the theaters, which is 2015.
But Trevorrow wrote parts for Luke?

Am I misunderstanding it? Does Hamill’s “...Even in this current version.” quote refer to dead Luke? Maybe Trevorrow wrote parts for force ghost Luke?

@nickandnora wrote:
@Mielikki

It's rumoured that one of the things that Colin was trying to get changed from the get-go was Luke's death. I'm not sure how reliable that is though, because it seems like too huge of a bone of contention to start off with. It's also possible that he had a huge role for Luke planned post-death (as a force ghost) kind of like Gandalf I guess.

@SoloSideCousin wrote:

@Kylo Rey wrote:Colin Trevorrow Talks His Star Wars Episode IX Exit

“I don't want to talk too much about it because I don't want to affect the way that fans get to see these films,” he said. “When we were kids, these movies came to us from far away. They were a gift. And the more we talk about how they're made, the more it reveals that they're just movies. But they're not just movies, they're more than that. Beyond that, I got the opportunity to tell a story that is a celebration of everything I believe in, I got to tell it to George Lucas and I got to tell it to Luke Skywalker, and those are experiences I will cherish for the rest of my life."

Interestingly he divulged the story outline for Episode IX to Mark Hamill and George Lucas.

@Kylo Rey

Didn't Mark say something about liking Colin's vision, or am I just imagining that?

@rawpowah wrote:He sounds so... passive aggressive. Maybe that's just me. But I too am starting to believe the rumors that he wanted Luke's death retconned, or he wanted to give force ghost Luke a plotline of his own that was going to take focus from the new characters.

It sounds like IX was going to be a Luke fest... which no thank you. I like the character, but I feel like he had his moment in TLJ and it's time to let the new characters shine, particularly the co-protagonists of the ST. I also didn't want CT anywhere near Kylo and the female characters.

@rawpowah wrote:@Night Huntress The trailer basically gave away the plotline for the entire movie. I doubt I'll miss anything if I pass on it

@rawpowah wrote:He sounds so... passive aggressive. Maybe that's just me. But I too am starting to believe the rumors that he wanted Luke's death retconned, or he wanted to give force ghost Luke a plotline of his own that was going to take focus from the new characters.

It sounds like IX was going to be a Luke fest... which no thank you. I like the character, but I feel like he had his moment in TLJ and it's time to let the new characters shine, particularly the co-protagonists of the ST. I also didn't want CT anywhere near Kylo and the female characters.

@SoloSideCousin wrote:

@rawpowah wrote:He sounds so... passive aggressive. Maybe that's just me. But I too am starting to believe the rumors that he wanted Luke's death retconned, or he wanted to give force ghost Luke a plotline of his own that was going to take focus from the new characters.

It sounds like IX was going to be a Luke fest... which no thank you. I like the character, but I feel like he had his moment in TLJ and it's time to let the new characters shine, particularly the co-protagonists of the ST. I also didn't want CT anywhere near Kylo and the female characters.

@rawpowah

Yeah, he's basically all "Yeah, I got George Lucas's and Mark Hamill's approval, so I'm the real legit one!" I particularly "loved" how he made absolutely no mention of Daisy or Adam, when they *are* the ST.

@ISeeAnIsland wrote:

@SoloSideCousin wrote:

@rawpowah wrote:He sounds so... passive aggressive. Maybe that's just me. But I too am starting to believe the rumors that he wanted Luke's death retconned, or he wanted to give force ghost Luke a plotline of his own that was going to take focus from the new characters.

It sounds like IX was going to be a Luke fest... which no thank you. I like the character, but I feel like he had his moment in TLJ and it's time to let the new characters shine, particularly the co-protagonists of the ST. I also didn't want CT anywhere near Kylo and the female characters.

@rawpowah

Yeah, he's basically all "Yeah, I got George Lucas's and Mark Hamill's approval, so I'm the real legit one!" I particularly "loved" how he made absolutely no mention of Daisy or Adam, when they *are* the ST.

@SoloSideCousin

If rumors are to be believed, Colin told Daisy about his envisioned ending for Rey at an SNL wrap party or whatever it was....and she wound up in tears when he told her (who knows if those were "happy" or "sad" tears).  I think that anecdote is very telling though, compared to whatever he told Mark and Carrie.

And while Adam was supposedly told his character's arc before signing on.... This also would fit with the rumor of Colin struggling to write a decent arc for Ben Solo.

@Blood Moon wrote:

This can be read different ways right? Is it about SW, JW? I'm thinking it's about SW. He's saying it in a way that it's hard to decipher for me.
That was probably his intention.