Entertainment Weekly just dropped a whole lot of new Star Wars material on us including some more info on just who Kylo Ren is, but the big news to come out of all of it is where Episode VII director J.J. Abrams is heading in regard to the franchise. In an interview with the director, EW was told by Abrams that he will still be floating around the franchise, watching from a distance, but would not be returning to direct any of the sequels or spin-offs. Abrams stated:
No, I’m not going to direct Episode IX, as much as I am deeply envious of anyone who gets to work with this group of people on the future movies. … It’s a thrill to see [Johnson] take things and elevate them beyond what we had imagined at the time.
So what does that really mean? They already have a director for Episode VIII, Looper and Brick helmer Rian Johnson and I don’t think anyone really expected him to jump on board as a director of any of the spin-offs. So that leaves the Episode IX slot still needing to be filled. There has been no release of info on that. Could it be an issue of money? Maybe Abrams is playing his hand a little, waiting to see how the film does both financially and critically so that he can fill his swimming pool with even more cash? Or is taking on something of this magnitude just more work than its worth? At this point in the story your probably just like me, “who gives a shit I just want to see Episode VII already…” Patience Padawan, patience….