J.J. Abrams Slammed Jameson With Colbert Before Accepting 'Star Wars' 

The director of The Force Awakens and Star Trek (2009) is ready to wrap up this new Star Wars trilogy. But, before he took the job to direct Star Wars: Episode VII, J.J. Abrams had to have a drink with Stephen Colbert beforehand.

On Wednesday night, appearing on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Stephen Colbert teased Abrams about the success he’s had with Star Wars. Not only is The Force Awakens still one of the most successful films of all time, but “the gravy is that Disney and George Lucas and the fans are all so easy to please.” Abrams said that despite any concerns from fan criticisms, he was excited to put himself “in front of that firing squad again.”

Colbert also revealed that two weeks before J.J. Abrams accepted the job directing and co-writing Episode VII in 2013, that they shared Jamesons in Colbert’s office in which Abrams said apprehensively “I don’t know man.”

In terms of preparation for Episode IX, Abrams told Colbert that “we have a script,” and that the film starts shooting at the “end of July.”

On February 16, when IndieWire asked Abrams if any kind of backlash against The Last Jedi would impact the writing of Episode IX, he said: “Not in the least.” Abrams was partially responding to hater trolls who disliked the preponderance of powerful women in The Last Jedi, but his comment could also mean that he’s not going to rewrite or retcon any of Rian Johnson’s decisions. Meaning, Rey’s parents are probably still going to be drunk losers, and we probably won’t ever meet them.

Star Wars: Episode IX will hit theaters on December 20, 2019.