Episode IX – without an official title as of yet – is expected to go into production next summer, after Abrams replaced Colin Trevorrow as director.
A user on Reddit recalled a conversation had with Abrams and co-writer Chris Terrio, and it seems there’s already lots to get excited about.
The poster wrote: “They said that they’re going to be brave and there will be big surprises.
“I got the impression that JJ felt like he had to refresh previous Star Wars moments for a modern audience in TFA [The Force Awakens], and now it feels like they have free reign to do what they want.
“Apparently they’ve had no interference from Kathleen [Kennedy] or Pablo [Hidalgo] or the Lucasfilm Story Group. 9 is also the film which unites all three trilogies and brings everything together. That’s all they would tell me.”
They added: “I worry a little bit that the questions I was asking were too leading.
“I was speaking to Chris and he was talking about the OT [original trilogy]. I said about how I grew up with the PT [prequel trilogy] and the prequels were my entry point into Star Wars.
“I asked about elements of the PT coming into 9 and Chris said about how 9 unites all of it. He said 9 definitely makes it feel like they’re all happening in the same universe, and there would be PT elements in 9.
“They could be visual or thematic – he didn’t overtly say that there would be returning planets or characters from the PT or anything.”
There’s been a lot of talk of faces from the prequels returning in Episode 8 – Anakin’s Force Ghost and Mace Windu as Snoke, to name just two theories – but could 9 be when the past finally resurfaces?
We’ve got a long wait before we find out: episode 9 is not due out until December 2019.
In the meantime, Episode 8: The Last Jedi releases on December 14.