Colin Trevorrow will no longer be working with Disney and Lucasfilm on Star Wars: Episdode IX. The Jurassic World director has been with this project since 2015. This development was unexpected.
Starwars.com, which is where you go for the latest news on all things Star was, posted this:
Lucasfilm and colin Trevorrow have mutually chosen to part ways on Star Wars: Episode IX. 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.
This development was sudden, and no indication had been given that this would happen. Star Wars: The Last Jedi will release in just over 3 months, so the focus has been on that.
After Jurassic World, Trevorrow worked on a smaller film called The Book of Henry, which starred Naomi Watts, Jaeden Lieberher, and Jacob Tremblay. It scored a dismal 22% on Rotten Tomatoes and rated at only 4.1 with critics.
The Book of Henry flopped hard, and Star Wars fans took notice. Some called for the removal of Trevorrow. They wanted someone more fit for the director’s chair, and with more acclaim. The backlash didn’t contribute to this development, however.
Lucasfilm didn’t see The Book of Henry before they hired Trevorrow in 2015. They did, however, see it before he actually started writing the script. The Hollywood Reporter confirms the studio just doesn’t like Trevorrow’s work by saying it’s been “the continuing sore spot with Episode IX’s development with Trevorrow having had repeated stabs at multiple drafts.”
Jack Thorne was hired last month to work with Trevorrow. With the creative differences piling up, they have chosen to see how someone else might handle the film. Being a patsy for white privilege in Hollywood makes it this a harder blow.