Colin Trevorrow out of Episode IX

Lucasfilm and director Colin Trevorrow have “mutually chosen to part ways” on the third installment of the sequel trilogy, Lucasfilm announced today.

The rest of the statement, comb over it as you will:

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 last we heard of IX was a rumor that Jack Thorne had been brought on as a screenwriter. That hasn’t been confirmed, but may have been an early indicator that things with the film may be in flux.

UPDATE #1: Here come the trades: The Hollywood Reporter says that “script issues have continued to be an issue” and the relationship between Trevorrow and Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy had became “unmanageable.”

IX is currently the farthest Star Wars film out with an announced release date. It’s currently due May 24, 2019. Always in motion, the future…

UPDATE #2: Deadline says that Rian Johnson is a frontrunner to take over IX, and given the (apparently) trouble-free production of The Last Jedi one can easily see why. One thing’s for sure: They won’t won’t need to show him the ropes. And he’s been very open about being willing to do another one.