Following the shocking news that Trevorrow was fired by Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, Star Wars fans have been wondering who would take over to direct Star Wars Episode IX.
At first the most obvious choice was Episode VIII: The Last Jedi’s Johnson, who recently denied the rumours.
However Lucasfilm have now released a statement confirming that Episode VI: The Force Awakens director Abrams will return to complete the new Star Wars trilogy.
The statement read: “J.J. Abrams, who launched a new era of Star Wars with The Force Awakens in 2015, is returning to complete the sequel trilogy as writer and director of Star Wars: Episode IX.
It continued: “Abrams will co-write the film with Chris Terrio. Star Wars: Episode IX will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, Abrams, Bad Robot, and Lucasfilm.
Kennedy said: “With The Force Awakens, J.J. delivered everything we could have possibly hoped for, and I am so excited that he is coming back to close out this trilogy.
Star Wars: Episode IX will be released in UK cinemas on June 21, 2019.