Earlier this week we brought you some comments from J.J. Abrams who revealed that he plans to the take Star Wars saga “elsewhere” with Star Wars: Episode IX, taking a different approach to the final chapter of the Sequel Trilogy to that of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which – as many have highlighted – leans heavily on A New Hope.
However, according to a poster on Reddit (via Star Wars News Net) who recently met with Abrams and screenwriter Chris Terrio, Episode IX will be “the film which unites all three trilogies and brings everything together”, as well as incorporating familiar elements from the divisive Prequel Trilogy.
“They said that they’re going to be brave and there will be big surprises. I got the impression that JJ felt like he had to refresh previous Star Wars moments for a modern audience in TFA, and now it feels like they have free reign to do what they want. Apparently they’ve had no interference from Kathleen or Pablo or the Lucasfilm Story Group. IX is also the film which unites all three trilogies and brings everything together. That’s all they would tell me.”
“I worry a little bit that the questions I was asking were too leading. I was speaking to Chris and he was talking about the OT. I said about how I grew up with the PT and the prequels were my entry point into Star Wars. I asked about elements of the PT coming into IX and Chris said about how IX unites all of it. He said IX definitely makes it feel like they’re all happening in the same universe, and there would be PT elements in IX . They could be visual or thematic – he didn’t overtly say that there would be returning planets or characters from the PT or anything.”
While the Prequels definitely have their detractors, they are of course a huge part of the Star Wars lore, and Lucasfilm hasn’t shied from referencing them in the Disney films to date (see the mention of Clone armies in The Force Awakens, and a trip to Mustafar in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). So, it will be interesting to see what other elements may feature, and the role they could play in the wider Sequel Trilogy storyline.
Star Wars: Episode IX is set for release on December 20th 2019. Before then however is Star Wars: The Last Jedi, opening this December, followed by Solo: A Star Wars Story in May 2018.
Originally published October 22, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
