Star Wars Episode 9 Will Be Directed By JJ Abrams

JJ Abrams will return to the Star Wars saga to direct and co-write Episode IX. Abrams previously made 2015's hugely successful The Force Awakens and will replace Colin Trevorrow, who left Episode IX last week.

The news was confirmed by Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy, who said in a statement: "With The Force Awakens, JJ delivered everything we could have possibly hoped for, and I am so excited that he is coming back to close out this trilogy." Star Wars Episode IX is set for a May 2019 release.

Trevorrow's departure from Episode IX was announced by Lucasfilm last week. A statement explained that "we have all come to the conclusion that our visions for the project differ." However, a subsequent report by Vulture suggested however that Kennedy fired Trevorrow because he was "difficult."

The next Star Wars movie to hit theaters will be The Last Jedi, which arrives in December. It had been rumored that director Rian Johnson was in the running to take over from Trevorrow, but earlier this week he denied that this was the case.