I’m truly grateful that The Book of Henry exits. Because it was made — embarassment though it may be — we’re currently in the middle of J. J. Abrams‘ post-production of Star Wars: Episode IX rather than Colin Trevorrow‘s.

Taking a break from the final gargantuan push to close the Skywalker saga forever, Abrams had a lengthy chat with Fast Company about many things, Episode IX and otherwise. Regarding that yet-to-be-titled finale, and his decision to take it on after the firing of Trevorrow, Abrams said:

• “I wasn’t supposed to be there. I wasn’t the guy, ya’ know? I was working on some other things, and I had something else that I was assuming would be the next project, if we’d be so lucky. And then Kathy Kennedy called and said, ‘Would you really, seriously, consider coming aboard?’ And once that started, it all happened pretty quickly. The whole thing was a crazy leap of faith. And there was an actual moment when I nearly said, ‘No, I’m not going to do this.’”

Throwing away Trevorrow’s script and starting from scratch, Abrams also addressed the reality of having to pick things up with where writer / director Rian Johnson left them at the end of The Last Jedi:

• “I had some gut instincts about where the story would have gone (after The Force Awakens). But without getting in the weeds on episode eight, that was a story that Rian wrote and was telling based on seven before we met. So he was taking the thing in another direction. So we also had to respond to Episode VIII. So our movie was not just following what we had started, it was following what we had started and then had been advanced by someone else.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Abrams talks about:

• Who it was that convinced him to say “yes” to Episode IX (and it wasn’t Lucasfilm Prez Kathleen Kennedy simply throwing money at him)
• Why he brought in co-screenwriter Chris Terrio (Oscar-winner for Argo)
• How he feels the current state of the edit and how it’s all coming together (spoiler alert: he’s excited)

To read the full Fast Company interview, click here.

And so here we are, eight months out from the film’s release. J.J. Abrams is finally talking. Star Wars Celebration is this weekend. Plus, there’s that corporate sibling Avengers: Endgame about to dominate theaters. I’m thinking our first Star Wars: Episode IX teaser is nigh.

Or, at least, a title reveal.

Star Wars: Episode IX opens on December 20, 2019.