After directing the year’s highest-grossing film thus far, “Jurassic World,” Colin Trevorrow will direct “Star Wars: Episode IX,” Disney chief Alan Horn announced on Saturday at the D23 Fan Expo in Anaheim.
“This is not a job or an assignment. It is a seat at a campfire, surrounded by an extraordinary group of storytellers, filmmakers, artists and craftspeople,”Trevorrow said. “We’ve been charged with telling new stories for a younger generation because they deserve what we all had — a mythology to call their own. We will do this by channeling something George Lucas instilled in all of us: boundless creativity, pure invention and hope.”
While production won’t begin for a few years, Trevorrow is heading to Lucasfilm this year to begin working with artists and his fellow “Star Wars” directors.
“Colin is someone I’ve been interested in working with ever since I saw ‘Safety Not Guaranteed,'” said Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. “The power of that film paired with the enormous success of ‘Jurassic World’ speaks volumes about his abilities both as a storyteller and skilled filmmaker. We are thrilled to have such an incredible talent as Colin join our family and step into the Star Wars universe.”
“Star Wars: Episode IX” is set for release in 2019 and will conclude the third trilogy of “Star Wars” movies that begins with “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” on Dec. 18.
Rian Johnson is directing “Star Wars: Episode VIII,” and is expected to write the treatment for “Episode IX.” Meanwhile, “Lego Movie” filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller are directing a standalone movie about a young Han Solo while “Godzilla” director Gareth Edwards is currently shooting “Rogue One,” starring Felicity Jones.
Trevorrow will next direct “Book of Henry” starring Naomi Watts, and he’s also slated to write “Jurassic World 2” with his frequent collaborator Derek Connolly, who previously wrote “Safety Not Guaranteed.”
Led by Chris Pratt and his army of velociprators, “Jurassic World” has grossed $1.6 billion worldwide to date. Trevorrow is repped by Verve, 3 Arts Entertainment and Ginsburg Daniels.
Trevorrow’s rumored hiring was first reported by El Mayimbe at Heroic Hollywood.
'Star Wars: Episode VII': 10 Other Loathed Then Loved Castings (Photos)
Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen, "Twilight" -- Fans of Stephanie Meyers' young adult vampire novel series revolted when this relatively unknown actor was named as Bella Swan's future hubby, but then fans couldn't decide who they loved more, Edward or Jacob, so they broke into two teams.
Michael Keaton as Batman, "Batman" -- FAN: Hold up. You're telling me "Mr. Mom" is going to kick the Joker's ass? TIM BURTON: Yeap. And you're going to love him for it.
Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, "The Hunger Games" -- Lawrence was 20 when she was cast in the coveted role, but the character was 16. To make the casting for controversial, Katniss has brown hair, and Lawrence had blond hair. Oh, the horror. Obviously, they got over it when they spent a combined $691.2 million worldwide to see her in action.
Heath Ledger as The Joker, "The Dark Knight" -- Ledger was best known as a teen heartthrob and a gay cowboy before stepping in to fill Jack Nicholson's gigantic shoes, and fans weren't happy about it. Then Ledger's haunting and psychotic performance blew them away. Sadly, he didn't live long enough to say, "I told you so."
Daniel Craig as James Bond -- Agent 007 doesn't have blond hair! And fans weren't happy to see this blondie with blue eyes take over for tall, dark and handsome '90s Bond, Pierce Brosnan. But then something funny happened: "Casino Royale" was praised as one of the best Bond movies ever, and was the highest grossing one, too. Until "Skyfall" beat it.
Idris Elba as Heimdall, "Thor: The Dark World" -- Elba playing all-seeing, all-hearing Asgardian sentry Heimdall was opposed by the Council of Conservative Citizens and comic book fans who felt a black man shouldn't play a white Nordic god. Now, however, people are rallying for Elba to be the first black James Bond.
Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk/Dr. Bruce Banner, "The Avengers" -- Fans of Marvel's angriest superhero were pleased with Edward Norton's performance in "The Incredible Hulk" (especially after Ang Lee's "The Hulk"), so they were hoping he would join Joss Whedon's team of Earth's mightiest heroes, but he couldn't reach a deal with the studio, so Ruffalo had to step in, and Hulk smash his critics to pieces.
Tom Cruise as Lestat de Lioncourt, "Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles" -- Author Anne Rice was the biggest critic of Cruise's casting, calling it "so bizarre; it's almost impossible to imagine how it's going to work." After seeing the film, however, she said that "from the moment he appeared, Tom was Lestat for me."
Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, "The Dark Knight Rises" -- Fans doubted that the "Princess Diaries" and "Devil Wears Prada" star could tackle a role that Michelle Pfeiffer played to purrfection in "Batman Returns," but not very many were left complaining after they watched her help Bruce Wayne save Gotham from Bane in the conclusion to Christopher Nolan's critically-acclaimed trilogy.
Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man, "Spider-Man" -- Fans of the Marvel superhero didn't think this former child actor could pull off a convincing wall crawler, and neither did Sony. But director Sam Raimi had faith in the "Cider House Rules" star, and it paid off when fans spent $821.7 million worldwide to see Maguire swing around the Big Apple in 2002.
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Upset that someone got cast in the new “Star Wars” movie that you didn’t want to? Chill out. Here’s 10 examples proving their performances might surprise you.
Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen, "Twilight" -- Fans of Stephanie Meyers' young adult vampire novel series revolted when this relatively unknown actor was named as Bella Swan's future hubby, but then fans couldn't decide who they loved more, Edward or Jacob, so they broke into two teams.
