Welp, it was bound to happen. “Star Wars: Episode IX” is getting a rewrite. Lucasfilm has tasked English writer Jack Thorne, known for his work in theater, TV and film, to take a new pass at the script.
READ MORE: R.I.P.: Carrie Fisher Dead At 60
In the U.K. Thorne is primarily known for his work writing for TV— “Skins,” “ This Is England” ’86, ’88 and ’90, “The Last Panthers,” the “National Treasure” mini-series— recently penning the stage play for “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” which was based off a new original new story by Thorne, J.K. Rowling and John Tiffany. Thorne’s credits also include feature films like “The Scouting Book for Boys,” “War Book,” “How I Live Now” and the upcoming “Wonder” starring Julia Roberts and Jacob Tremblay.
Colin Trevorrow is directing and the script was most recently written by Trevorrow and his “Jurassic World” writing partner Derek Connolly.
READ MORE: Carrie Fisher Won’t Appear In ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’
But all of that obviously occurred before the death of Carrie Fisher. Her character, General Leia Organa, was said to have had a major role in “Episode IX” where the Rebellion leader would face off against her son Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). It’s unclear from the reports, but one can imagine a scenario where ‘The Force Awakens’ was meant to be Han Solo’s film, ‘The Last Jedi’ as Luke Skywalker’s film and the final installment as Leia Organa’s film (and would they kill off each character in each film?). Alas, with no Carrie Fisher, there’s no Leia, so Lucasfilm is either forced to write her off (feels extremely odd) or find a way to kill her off screen (an undignified way to kill off such an iconic character, but what else can you do?)
Either way, Thorne, who also wrote the more fantasy/Star Wars-friendly “Dark Materials” and an adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s “Electric Sheep” for Channel 4, has an unenviable task of rewriting “Star Wars,” perhaps starting over in a fundamental manner. THR says “sources say a fresh set of eyes was needed. It is unclear how extensive the rewrites will be.” However, let’s not forget, Lucasfilm prez Kathleen Kennedy said ‘Episode IX’ was essentially starting over,so maybe this is that reboot.
‘Episode IX’ has a release date of May 24, 2019. If I were Johnson, Trevorrow or Lucasfilm, I’d likely still be heartbroken over what might have been and giving Leia a proper send off (and Fisher’s death, of course). They should release that version of the script one day for “Star Wars” historians. [THR]
Update: Johnson said he did not write a treatment for ‘Episode IX.’
Small correction: I did not write a treatment for IX.
— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) August 1, 2017