It came as a big shock to Star Wars fans last week when it was revealed that Lucasfilm had removed director Colin Trevorrow from Episode IX and replaced him with The Force Awakens‘ J.J. Abrams. Since then, the cast has remained quiet about the change, but now we have our first comments from someone involved with the production.
Speaking to IGN, Domhnall Gleeson – who plays The First Order’s General Hux – was on hand to talk about the switch-over of directors. First off, though, he was careful to leave his character’s fate in The Last Jedi open to interpretation, as he refused to reveal that he’s actually in Episode IX.
“I can’t speak from any perspective except for the fact as somebody who likes the movies because it’s not been disclosed to anybody — because obviously nobody knows what’s going to happen with The Last Jedi — whether I’ll be involved in that film or not. So I don’t think of it as somebody who’s necessarily involved or not involved, that’s just its own thing.”
With that out the way, Gleeson made it clear that he sympathizes with Trevorrow over the firing, but believes that it was probably for the best.
“But, you know, I think it’s very bad for Colin but if that was — but if the right thing to do is to part company, the most right thing to do is the same in any relationship, you know? That happens.”
Furthermore, the actor’s pleased that Abrams is on hand to fill the director’s chair and aired his view that he’s the best person for the job.
“And then with J.J., he’s a great director. I think that he did a brilliant job on the first one and it makes absolute sense why after they parted company with Colin that was the place they looked and I think it’s very exciting for the fans of the film that he’s back.”
Unfortunately, not all fans would agree with Gleeson’s opinion. Recently, an online petition was created calling for Lucasfilm to remove Abrams from the movie in response to their dislike of The Force Awakens. Whether that ends up gaining much traction, though, remains to be seen.
The Star Wars saga continues with The Last Jedi on December 15th. Star Wars: Episode IX, meanwhile, is due to land on May 24th, 2019.