Domhnall Gleeson is excited to work with JJ Abrams again in Star Wars: Episode IX. As one of several new characters introduced in 2015's The Force Awakens, the Irish actor currently takes on the role of General Hux - a First Order military leader who both works alongside and competes with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) for the favor of Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis).

While The Last Jedi still has a few months to release, our attention has been temporarily diverted to the still-untitled Episode IX because of the director switch - a predicament Lucasfilm has found themselves in more than once recently. Following the firing of the Han Solo directing duo Chris Lord and Phil Miller, who were replaced by Ron Howard, Lucasfilm also removed Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow.

Related: How Much of the Han Solo Movie is Ron Howard Reshooting?

For a few days, fans speculated as to who will take over, with The Last Jedi-director Rian Johnson's name seeming to be a fan favorite. As it turns out, Lucasfilm decided to go with the one who kicked-off the sequel trilogy, tapping the tried and tested J.J. Abrams to close out the sequel trilogy. Admittedly, not everyone was exuberant of the announcement, but Gleeson is excited about the prospect of reuniting with the prolific filmmaker.

Speaking with IGN while promoting his upcoming gig in the Tom Cruise-led film, American Made, Gleeson danced around his answer when asked regarding Star Wars 9 director kerfuffle saying: "but, you know, I think it's very bad for Colin but if that was -- but if the right thing to do is to part company, the most right thing to do is the same in any relationship, you know? That happens." Despite being coy with talking about the specific incident, the Irish actor was more forthcoming when expressing his thoughts about Lucasfilm's pick to replace Trevorrow:

"And then with J.J., he's a great director. I think that he did a brilliant job on the first one and it makes absolute sense why after they parted company with Colin that was the place they looked and I think it's very exciting for the fans of the film that he's back."

Interestingly, Gleeson's answer is non-committal about his involvement in Episode IX, presumably to prevent any inadvertently revealed spoilers. While he will appear in The Last Jedi, his involvement in its sequel is not yet verified.

While he has his detractors, it's understandable why anyone would be excited by Abrams' return. He successfully relaunched the franchise and reinvigorated our passion for the storied sci-fi/fantasy franchise, brought back the legacy characters and introduced us to new ones, all while earning more than $2 billion dollars at the global box office. The question now is whether Abrams will be as good in setting a narrative up as he is in tying up all the storylines he started in The Force Awakens along with those added by Johnson in The Last Jedi.

MORE: John Landis Criticizes Lucasfilm For Star Wars Director Firings

Source: IGN 

Key Release Dates