"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," Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy said in a statement.

The choice of Abrams makes sense given that Disney seems to want to play it safe with its investment in the Star Wars universe. Before Trevorrow left Episode IX, Disney also removed the directors Christopher Miller and Phillip Lord in favor of Ron Howard for the untitled Han Solo stand-alone film. Miller and Lord would definitely have represented a different direction for a Star Wars film, one that Disney was apparently not comfortable with.

Similarly, many fans were concerned that Trevorrow was out of his depth handling the movie -- particularly given that many feel he has only made one good film, and one not nearly as daunting as the closing chapter of a Star Wars trilogy. Abrams has already proven he's up to the task, and there's something to be said for having creative continuity within a series. Still, we'll first have to see how director Rian Johnson deals with The Last Jedi, which arrives on December 15th.

Update: Following the Abrams news, Deadline reports the release date for Episode IX has been pushed to December 2019. It was originally set for May 20, 2019.