STAR WARS: EPISODE 8 Writer and Director Announced

It seems J.J. Abrams will not return to direct the sequel to "Star Wars: Episode VII". Instead, Deadline reports that Rian Johnson will write and direct "Star Wars: Episode VIII". Johnson's past works include "Brick" and, my personal favorite, "Looper". The latter made quite an impression when it was released in 2012, performing very well at the box-office ($176 million worldwide versus a $30 million budget) and being hailed as a new sci-fi classic. Johnson also directed three episodes from the final season of "Breaking Bad".

Furthermore, he will also be given the task of writing a treatment for "Star Wars: Episode IX". It also seems that he will direct the third installment in the new sequel trilogy, although it's still too far in the future to be absolutely certain about that. I have to admit, I very much like that Disney and Lucasfilm are trying to freshen up the franchise with directors like Abrams and Johnson. Time will tell just how well they'll do. In the meantime, "Star Wars: Episode VII" will be released in theaters on December 18th, 2015.

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