Star Wars: Episode IX

Star Wars: Episode IX is an upcoming American epic space opera film produced, co-written, and directed by J. J. Abrams. It is intended to be the third and final installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy and the ninth installment of the main Star Wars film franchise, following The Force Awakens (2015) and The Last Jedi (2017). The film is produced by Lucasfilm and Bad Robot Productions and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

The film was announced after Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm in October 2012, with Colin Trevorrow announced as the film's director in August 2015. In September 2017, Trevorrow left the project due to creative differences; he was replaced by Abrams, who previously directed The Force Awakens. Filming began in August 2018 at Pinewood Studios in London. Episode IX is set to be released on December 20, 2019 in the United States.

Cast

 * Daisy Ridley as Rey, an orphaned girl from the planet Jakku and a Jedi mentored by Luke Skywalker.
 * Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, the master of the Knights of Ren and Supreme Leader of the First Order after his assassination of Snoke. Born as Ben Solo, he is the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, and the grandson of Darth Vader.
 * John Boyega as Finn, a former stormtrooper from the First Order who joined the Resistance.
 * Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, an ace X-wing pilot in the Resistance.
 * Lupita Nyong'o as Maz Kanata, a pirate and ally of the Resistance.
 * Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux, second-in-command of the First Order and a rival of Kylo Ren.
 * Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico, a maintenance worker in the Resistance.
 * Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca, a Wookiee, the longtime friend and partner of Han Solo and a co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon with Rey.
 * Billie Lourd as Lieutenant Connix, a lieutenant in the Resistance.
 * Naomi Ackie
 * Richard E. Grant
 * Keri Russell
 * Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, son of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, twin brother of Leia and the Jedi Master who mentored Rey in the previous film.
 * Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, a humanoid protocol droid in the service of Leia Organa.
 * Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian, an old friend of Han and Leia, and a veteran general of the Rebel Alliance.
 * Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa, the twin sister of Luke Skywalker, and leading general of the Resistance. Fisher, who died in late 2016, will appear through the use of unreleased footage from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.

Additionally, Jimmy Vee and Greg Grunberg reprise their roles as R2-D2 and Snap Wexley, respectively, from previous films. Brian Herring returns to puppeteer BB-8. Dominic Monaghan and Matt Smith have been cast in unspecified roles.

Development
In October 2012, Star Wars creator George Lucas sold his production company Lucasfilm, and with it the Star Wars franchise, to The Walt Disney Company. Disney announced a new trilogy of Star Wars films. In August 2015, Colin Trevorrow was announced as the director of Star Wars: Episode IX. Trevorrow, along with Derek Connolly, would be writing the script. It was also announced that Rian Johnson, director and writer of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, would be creating a story treatment for the film; however, by April 2017, Johnson stated he would not be involved with writing the film, claiming it was "old info". In February 2016, Disney chief executive officer Bob Iger confirmed that pre-production of Episode IX had begun.

In December 2016, following Carrie Fisher's death, Variety and Reuters reported that Fisher was slated for a key role in Episode IX. Lucasfilm, Disney and others involved with the film have not revealed how they plan to address Fisher's death and what will become of her character in the film. In January 2017, Lucasfilm stated that there were no plans to digitally generate Fisher's performance for the film. The following April, Fisher's brother Todd revealed that he and Fisher's daughter Billie Lourd granted Disney and Lucasfilm the rights to use recent footage of the late actress in the film, with the thought again not to have her appear via CGI. Despite this, Kennedy stated that Fisher would not appear in the film. At the end of the month, Disney announced the film would be released on May 24, 2019. A month later, filming was expected to begin in January 2018.

In August 2017, it was announced that Jack Thorne would rewrite the script. On September 5, 2017, Lucasfilm released a statement stating that Trevorrow had parted ways with the production, due to creative differences, with it reported that Trevorrow and Kennedy's relationship had become "unmanageable" after Trevorrow had been given multiple opportunities to work on multiple drafts of the script. Johnson was seen as the top choice to replace him as director, but he stated "it was never in the plan for me to direct Episode IX". A week later, it was announced that J. J. Abrams, director of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, would return to direct Episode IX. Abrams will also co-write the film with Chris Terrio, in addition to producing the film through his company Bad Robot Productions, with Kennedy and Michelle Rejwan. Disney also moved the film's release date to December 20, 2019. In July 2018, Keri Russell was in talks to play a part for some "action-heavy fight scenes" in the film, along with the confirmation that Billy Dee Williams will return as Lando Calrissian. At the end of the month, Russell was confirmed to have been cast, along with the announcement of returning and additional new cast members. Carrie Fisher will appear in the film using unreleased footage she filmed for The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. In late August, Dominic Monaghan and Matt Smith were cast in unspecified roles. Additionally, Jimmy Vee and Greg Grunberg reprise their roles as R2-D2 and Snap Wexley, respectively, from previous films. Brian Herring returns to puppeteer BB-8.

Filming
Principal photography began on August 1, 2018, at Pinewood Studios in London, England. Oscar Isaac stated that Abrams is allowing more improvised acting than in the previous two films. Filming is expected to be completed by February 2019.

Music
On January 10, 2018, it was reported that John Williams, who composed the eight previous saga films, will return to compose and conduct the music for Episode IX. The next month, Williams announced that Episode IX will be the last Star Wars film he will be composing.

Release
Star Wars: Episode IX is scheduled to be released on December 20, 2019, in the United States. It had originally been scheduled for May 24, 2019.