Screenwriters are the unsung heroes of the silver screen, dreaming up the stories that stick with us forever and the iconic lines we quote around the water cooler. Typically, these scribes don’t grab headlines the way they probably should, but when it comes to Star Wars, all news causes a disturbance in the force.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, British scribe Jack Thorne has been brought on to work on the script for Star Wars: Episode IX, the final installment of the third trilogy of the franchise’s main saga. Thorne is best-known stateside for adapting the New York Times Bestseller Wonder for the big screen, but he’s well known across the proverbial pond for his work on series like The Fades and National Treasure. That said, he has yet to work on a big-budget blockbuster of this ilk, so this is a pretty huge coup for the veteran writer.
Director Colin Trevorrow and Jurassic World penman Derek Connolly have also done work on the script and, at this point, it is not clear whether Thorne is being brought in for an overhaul, or just a few tweaks. Fans of the franchise will remember the whole hullabaloo surrounding the Rogue One re-shoots, during which it was rumored that Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation director Christopher McQuarrie would be replacing Gareth Edwards, after the film tested poorly for studio execs. It turned out that rumor was total nonsense and the film ended up receiving rave reviews from critics and fans alike.
Bottom line: Don’t read too much into this. It’s not uncommon to bring a fresh set of eyes on board when working on a script of this magnitude and it is likely that Thorne was added to the mix simply to help make this the best screenplay that it can be.
In any case, the film is still almost two years from its planned May 2019 release date, so there is plenty of time to work out the kinks. The premiere of Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, on the other hand, is imminent. That film — written and directed entirely by Rian Johnson — is set to hit theaters December 15.