Is Joss Whedon in Line to Direct Star Wars IX?

Joss Whedon is undeniably one of the biggest names in filmmaking right now. He managed to do the impossible with The Avengers in 2012, and in the ensuing years, has masterminded Marvel’s connected vision on its way to become the most successful movie franchise of all time.

With Avengers: Age of Ultron though, Whedon has finally bowed out of the MCU, giving him time to turn his attention to new projects. What could those projects be? Well if recent rumors are true… maybe something even bigger than Avengers.

With Whedon’s plate emptied, reports are now beginning to circulate that Whedon might be Disney’s pick to helm a future installment of Star Wars. Hear that? It’s as if millions of fans suddenly cried out at once (and demanded to know more).

Where are these rumors coming from?

Most recently, the Get Your Geek on Podcast (via Moviepilot) reported earlier this week that Whedon was a lock to direct Star Wars Episode IX in 2019. Additionally, MakingStarWars.net (a significantly more reliable source of information), is likewise saying that their sources are calling it, “extremely possible.”

Before you get your hopes too high (or low, depending on how you feel about Whedon’s work), it’s very important to remember that these are completely unverified reports. Neither Disney nor Whedon himself have given even the slightest bit of a response to the rumors, and likely won’t given we’re still years away from Episode IX.

Well, how likely is this?

Given just how much money Whedon has made Disney with the Marvel films, it would make sense that the studio wants to keep him involved in any way possible.

That being said, Whedon seems to be distancing himself lately from Marvel, and his recent comments indicate that he’d like to tackle something a bit smaller next. Still, the allure of a pop culture centerpiece like Star Wars (and I’m sure a hefty paycheck) are hard to say no to, so it’s entirely possible that Whedon could be wooed back to the House of Mouse.

It’s also worth mentioning that Whedon’s name has come up a few times in regards to the Star Wars anthology films, and with Josh Trank out of the picture for Disney’s 2018 entry… well, we just don’t know.