Star Wars: Episode 9 Has Lost Its Director

There's been another major shake-up with the direction of a future Star Wars film. In what's described as a mutual decision, Episode IX will no longer be directed by Colin Trevorrow, Lucasfilm announced today.

The news was revealed in a brief post on the official Star Wars website. "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."

It's unclear what precipitated today's news. The 40-year-old Trevorrow previously directed Jurassic World and Safety Not Guaranteed. Earlier this summer, he released The Book of Henry, which was panned by critics. There's no word yet on who will be tapped next to direct the film.

Episode IX is slated for release on May 24, 2019. That actually gives Lucasfilm quite a bit more time to deal with the situation than it had with the Han Solo movie. In that case, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (of The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street fame) were dropped earlier this year, just 11 months before the film's scheduled debut. Soon after, Ron Howard was brought aboard to replace them, with reports suggesting that Miller and Lord had clashed with Lucasfilm.