Most of the attention in the Star Wars world recently has been focused on the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story, leading fans to wonder about the status of J.J. Abrams' Episode IX. During a recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Abrams confirmed that the script is finished and shooting is set to begin this July.

"We have a script, which is a big deal for me. It starts shooting at the end of July. Having a script in advance is something I haven't always been lucky enough to have," Abrams revealed. "I'm writing this with Chris Terrio, who's a genius, and I'm having a great time."

Colin Trevorrow was originally slated to helm the final chapter in this new trilogy of films, yet after parting ways with Lucasfilm last fall, Abrams stepped in to finish the trilogy he started with The Force Awakens.

Some fans were appeased with Abrams returning to the franchise, given their vocal disdain for Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi. The fans who hated the film are in the minority, yet have devoted the last few months to expressing their vitriol all across social media, creating fan-edits of the film that removes female characters and starting petitions to have The Last Jedi erased from canon.

Despite the outcry from a vocal minority of fans, Abrams confirmed these complaints haven't impacted his vision of Episode IX.

“Not in the least,” Abrams told IndieWire if he was adjusting his film to fans' expectations. “There’s a lot that I would like to say about it, but I feel like it’s a little early to be having the Episode IX conversation … I will say that the story of Rey and Poe and Finn and Kylo Ren — and if you look, there are three men and one woman, to those that are complaining that there are too many women in Star Wars — their story continues in a way that I couldn’t be more excited about and cannot wait for people to see.”

Episode IX will be landing in theaters on December 20th, 2019.

Are you glad to see Abrams returning to the director's chair? Let us know in the comments below!

[H/T YouTube, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert]