Colin Trevorrow's Star Wars 9 will go down as one of the great unknowns of the Star Wars saga. Trevorrow was brought in as director of the film back in August 2015, with the aim of bringing the sequel trilogy to a triumphant close. However, his time with Lucasfilm came to an abrupt end in September 2017, after two years on the project.The last few years have actually been quite a tumultuous time for Lucasfilm. Josh Trank's Boba Fett spinoff was abruptly dropped after the performance of Trank's Fantastic Four reboot; there are rumors Lucasfilm is still toying with the film, but nothing concrete has been heard for some time. In June 2017, Phil Lord and Chris Miller left Solo: A Star Wars Story, with Lucasfilm calling in Ron Howard to finish the movie. Shortly after that, Trevorrow exited Episode IX. He was replaced by J.J. Abrams, who is returning to finish the story he started back in 2015.RELATED: Will J.J. Abrams Course Correct' Star Wars in Episode 9?While Trevorrow's Episode IX never got out of the scripting stages, and he departed before the previous film - Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi - release, there was a concrete vision nailed down; a vision that, despite Lucasfilm's secrecy, has begun to leak out. Here's everything we know about Colin Trevorrow's scrapped Star Wars Episode IX.This Page: How Star Wars 9 Changed During Trevorrow's Development
Colin Trevorrow Was Working On The Film Before The Force Awakens Released
Lucasfilm began pre-production on The Force Awakens back in October 2012, and by the time it released in late 2015 the studio was working on all three films in the sequel trilogy at once. Rian Johnson was hired as writer/director of The Last Jedi in 2014; Trevorrow was recruited just a year later, in August 2015.
Speaking at Star Wars Celebration 2016, Johnson admitted it was difficult working on The Last Jedi while The Force Awakens was still in production (he started filming while Episode VII was still in theaters). It seems highly likely Trevorrow faced the same problems; he started work on Episode IX before The Force Awakens had even released. Meanwhile, Lawrence Kasdan - writer of The Force Awakens - admitted the sequel trilogy's direction would be changed by Rian Johnson's decisions on The Last Jedi. The impact of Johnson's decisions would naturally ripple on into Episode IX.
The Star Wars 9 script has been through many versions since then, with Jack Thorne coming on before Trevorrow left to punch up his version.
Episode IX Could Have Been The End Of The Skywalker Saga
It's important to set the sequel trilogy in its proper context. At the same time as they began work on the sequels, Lucasfilm was also preparing to launch a series of experimental spinoff movies. The first of these was 2016's Rogue One, and Lucasfilm were eager to see how that movie performed. In November 2016, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy admitted they were toying with bringing an end to the Skywalker Saga, and focusing entirely on the spinoffs. She described an ongoing "conversation" in Lucasfilm, as the powers-that-be attempted to chart the future of the Star Wars franchise. The decisions were being made by a sort of Lucasfilm "brain trust," including Kennedy, Trevorrow, Johnson, Abrams, and Kasdan.
RELATED: Will Disney Really End The Star Wars Saga After Episode 9?
This decision would inevitably effect Trevorrow's plans for Episode IX; it could have been not just the end of the sequels, but the Saga. What was decided on ultimately is unclear - although Trevorrow did promise that the sequels would end on an "emotionally resonant" note but the fact discussions were happening gives a taste of the scope of the story.
Carrie Fisher's Death Changed The Plan
In December 2016, Carrie Fisher unexpectedly passed away aged just 60. Her death sent shockwaves through Star Wars fandom and left Lucasfilm in a complicated position. While her role in The Last Jedi was complete, Kathleen Kennedy has revealed that Lucasfilm intended Episode IX to feature Princess Leia in a major role: "[Fisher] thought IX would be her movie," she reflected, "and it would have been." The first question was whether or not to edit The Last Jedi in order to reduce Leia's presence, or even kill off the character. Lucasfilm eventually chose not to, meaning the issue would need to be resolved in Episode IX.
Up until this point, Trevorrow had been working on a version of Episode IX that centered heavily on Leia; The Last Jedi which set Leia up as either a new mentor figure for Rey, or as the overall leader and continuing inspiration of the Resistance. Once Lucasfilm committed to not using doubles or CGI to resurrect the character in Episode IX, the entire story needed redoing. According to Kennedy he "pretty much started over" with the script. This was obviously a hard task, doubly so as it now meant Star Wars 9 was moving ahead without any of the original cast.
Rian Johnson Shot A Scene For Episode IX
While Trevorrow never got as far as production on Star Wars 9, some of the film was technically shot: he Trevorrow requested Johnson shoot "one extra thing" for Episode IX. Nothing is known about that scene - other than the fact it has probably been scapped since Abrams redid the story - but it presumably involved a setup from The Last Jedi that would be arduous to replicate a couple of years later (this may indicate Ahch-To).
RELATED: Star Wars 9 Should End The Saga
Whatever the case, it's further evidence of Lucasfilm's collaborative system. A similar subtle change was made in The Force Awakens in order to better set up The Last Jedi; BB-8 was originally the one to accompany Rey to Ahch-To, but Johnson requested that change so he could have an emotional reunion between Luke and R2-D2.
The Story of Trevorrow's Episode IX
Precious little is known about the actual scripts Trevorrow was working on, which is hardly surprising; Lucasfilm is understandably secretive about projects that are still in development. Only two things are clear; that Trevorrow originally intended Leia to be a central character, and that his plans for Rey left Daisy Ridley deeply emotional. Saturday Night Live star Bobby Moynihan told of a meeting between Trevorrow and Ridley at an SNL after-party. Ridley was excited to learn what was in store for her character, and the two disappeared into a corner to discuss Rey's role in the film. Trevorrow's pitch actually left Ridley in tears.
There are rumors Trevorrow disagreed with some of the decisions taken in The Last Jedi, with it suggested he wanted both Supreme Leader Snoke and Luke Skywalker to be alive for Episode IX. These are unconfirmed, though; they may simply reflect fan wishes that these two controversial moments had played out differently.
RELATED: How The Last Jedi Changes Star Wars Forever
Why Did Colin Trevorrow Leave Episode IX?
Some sections of the audience were never been completely sold on Trevorrow as writer/director of Episode IX. Although his debut film (Safety Not Guaranteed) was praised for its heartfelt narrative, blockbuster expansion Jurassic World had no such depth; characterization was relatively flat, and some odd storytelling decisions left fans concerned he was only being hired because of the unrelated box office success. Then came the release of The Book of Henry, which proved to be a critical failure. There was immediate speculation that Trevorrow would be sacked from Episode IX.
Trevorrow and Lucasfilm parted ways in September 2017, claiming that their "visions for the project differ." Since then, insiders have claimed behind-the-scenes conflict had been worse than publicly admitted. It's now thought the success of Jurassic World had gone to Trevorrow's head, making him "difficult" to work with.
Lucasfilm swiftly announced that J.J. Abrams would be returning to finish the trilogy he began with The Force Awakens. He was hired as both writer/director of Episode IX, and began starting from scratch. At this stage, it's unknown how many of Trevorrow's ideas will make it into the final film. That will probably only be revealed - or more likely, hinted at - after Episode IX's release.
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