J.J. Abrams Confirms Episode IX Script Finished, Starts Shooting in July (VIDEO)

Cranking out a Star Wars movie every year has cut pre-production time on each film down substantially. This means that just two months removed from the release of The Last Jedi, there's already a completed script for its follow-up, Star Wars Episode IX written by J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio (Argo). Abrams dropped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night to confirm that the script was indeed finished and that filming is set to begin this coming July.

You've really got to hand it to Abrams. The dude came back into the fold to co-write and direct Episode IX a scant six months ago and he's already finished a script and is ready to start shooting. There's part of me that's happy he's so efficient and another part of me that wants to say, "We've got some time, you maybe wanna give that script another couple of drafts?"

My hope is that Abrams is returning to the franchise with a chip on his shoulder. He's a populist filmmaker and cares desperately what the fans think, which is why he's always trying to service them so much. I sincerely hope he's coming in having listened to all the complaints about VII and VIII and will be bound and determined not to repeat them. Plus, he hasn't gotten to complete a trilogy yet, so I'm guessing he's going to be compelled to get it right. I hope.