Star Wars: Episode IX Brings on a New Writer

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Star Wars: Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow and his writing partner, Derek Connolly, will be adding a new face to their writing room. Sources tell THR that Trevorrow and Connolly just needed some fresh eyes on the script to make sure it’s sufficiently Star-worthy. As of now, we’re not sure exactly how extensive the rewrites are going to be.

The new face in question is British scribe Jack Thorne, who has to this point mostly written television dramas and thrillers, including: The Fades, The Cast-Offs, The Last Panthers and National Treasure (not that National Treasure, in case you were hoping Nic Cage would show up as some sort of wizened Jedi in Episode IX). Thorne also scripted the forthcoming Wonder, a heartstring-pulling drama starring Jacob Tremblay, Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson.

While none of that exactly screams galactic-spanning war, Thorne is also working on adaptations of His Dark Materials and Philip K. Dick’s Electric Sheep. Let’s hope he knows what he’s doing.

Episode IX, expected to begin production in January 2018, is set for a May 24, 2019 release.