What is now known as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is being directed by J.J. Abrams, who also directed 2015?s The Force Awakens. The thing is, the ninth Star Wars film ? which is the third of the new trilogy and the final entry in the Skywalker saga ? was supposed to be directed by Colin Trevorrow. But that didn?t happen and Abrams was brought on late into pre-production, which made for a tight shooting schedule.