This year's D23 Expo has seen a wave of news come from Anaheim. It's been confirmed that Orlando Bloom is returning for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales whilst details have emerged about the Finding Nemo sequel and we've had a first glimpse at The Incredibles 2 and more.
However, more news have come out about the new Star Wars trilogy that JJ Abrams is kicking off in December of this year with The Force Awakens. Colin Trevorrow, who directed this summer's mega-hit Jurassic World, has now been tapped to direct Episode IX of the new trilogy, following on from Rian Johnson's Episode VIII.
This confirms long-held rumours that Trevorrow would have some involvement in the series, whether it be taking over from Josh Trank and his Boba Fett-centred spinoff or something more.
RIan Johnson is writing Episode 8, set for May 2017, and Episode 9 will be directed by Colin Trevorrow. #StarWars
— Laura Prudom (@LauInLA) August 15, 2015
So, thoughts on Trevorrow? He's a good choice and Jurassic World's box-office earnings prove that he's able to steer a blockbuster to successes and still maintain hardened audiences' wonder at it all. We were big fans of Jurassic World, although it seems that it didn't win over everybody everywhere. Some felt it was a bit derivative, others had a problem with Bryce Dallas Howard running with high-heels (that was insane, by the way).
The point being that Trevorrow may not inspire the same love and admiration that, say, Rian Johnson did. Let's keep in mind that Looper was almost universally loved and admired. Safety Not Guaranteed, on the other hand, was liked and enjoyed - but not to a similar amount. It could very well be that Johnson is to the original series what The Empire Strikes Back was - darker, more edgier, more adult. That would put Trevorrow in the unenviable task of working off the back of that.
Either way, he's a solid - if predictable choice. We won't know how it all pans out until 2019.