'Star Wars: Episode IX' Reportedly Viewed As a "Course Correction"

Earlier tonight, it was reported that mega-director, producer, and writer J.J. Abrams was shopping himself around for a reportedly record-breaking overall deal.

Essentially this means that Abrams wants to have all of his creative efforts at one studio — including films, television shows, streaming projects, and consumer products.

Understandably so, Variety reports that Disney is one of two front-runners to land Abrams for the mega-deal. But buried deeper in the report was a tidbit that might shed some light on why Disney is so interested in Abrams.

Industry insiders are reporting that Star Wars: Episode IX — the project Abrams is working on at the moment — is, in fact, a "course correction" for Lucasfilm after their recent efforts — such as Solo — have failed to meet the studios' expections. According to the report, Abrams has a close relationship with Disnehy CEO Bob Iger.

Solo: A Star Wars Story ended up flopping — both critically and commercially. The movie ended up grossing $393 million worldwide, and just $213 million domestically. The film has a 70% rating on the review-aggregating website Rotten Tomatoes, which said the movie a was "a flawed yet fun and fast-paced space adventure...should satisfy newcomers to the saga as well as longtime fans who check their expectations at the theater door."

Although Abrams almost didn't take the Episode IX gig after the departure of Colin Trevorrow, the director eventually decided it was too "delicious" of an opportunity to skip.

"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," Abrams explained. "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."

Do you think Abrams will get the Star Wars franchise back on the right track? Do you think the train even derailed in the first place? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Star Wars: Episode IX lands in theaters on December 20, 2019.

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