Here's Why J.J. Abrams Returned To Direct 'Star Wars 9'

When Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow left Star Wars: Episode IX, moviegoers were left wondering who would take his place. We received the answer pretty quickly and it was both surprising and kind of obvious: Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams. Now, Abrams is revealing what drew him back to the Star Wars franchise, even though the filmmaker claims he had no intention of returning.

Read on to learn why J.J. Abrams returned to Star Wars.

In many ways, bringing J.J. Abrams back to close out the new Star Wars trilogy makes sense. While there is a whole universe of filmmakers out there (hey, Lucasfilm and Disney, feel free to hire a female director any time now), bringing a filmmaker who has already proven his worth to the franchise is the safest course of action possible. Despite this, Abrams had no intention of returning to a galaxy far, far away. In a new Rolling Stone feature, Abrams reveals that, much like Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part III, just when he thought he was out, they pulled him back in:

"I had no intention to return. But when the opportunity presented itself to finish a story that we had begun with these new characters, to tell the last chapter of their story, it felt like there was a chance to do it in a way where we could go beyond, and do better than we did in Seven."

Again: makes sense. Abrams did a very good job with The Force Awakens, and while it might've been more exciting to bring a new voice to the Star Wars franchise, I'm sure he'll handle Episode IX with aplomb. For his part, Abrams says that another reason to return to the franchise was to improve on the Star Wars work he's already done:

"I learned so much in that movie and I saw that this was a chance to sort of realize something that we hadn't quite achieved – and part of that was it was simply the beginning of these new characters and their story. The opportunity to sort of take what we had learned, to take the feeling of who these characters are and what they are and give them a final chapter that felt in the spirit of what we begun? It was too delicious of an opportunity to pass up."

At the moment, we really have no idea what Abrams will do with his next Star Wars chapter. We'll have to see Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi first to get a feel for where the story is headed. But one thing is certain: even after Abrams' films hit theaters in 2019, there will still be plenty of Star Wars to come. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy confirmed that there are already plans for at least the "next 10 years" of Star Wars, and Jonson will soon begin work on a whole new Star Wars trilogy set outside the current saga.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens December 15, 2017. Star Wars: Episode IX opens December 20, 2019.