The speculation surrounding Star Wars: Episode 9 is that it would take place a significant amount of time after The Last Jedi. This has been the norm for Star Wars movies since the beginning, with the only exception being The Last Jedi, which picked up immediately after The Force Awakens. Just one more way Rian Johnson broke from tradition. Now, thanks to comments by John Boyega in the upcoming issue of Empire [via Vanity Fair], we know exactly when Episode 9 picks up.
The magazine says "John Boyega has confirmed the film takes place one year after the events of The Last Jedi.”
A year isn't a significant amount of time, but it's enough for the Resistance to have partially recovered from the ass whuppin' they take from the First Order. It's also time for Kylo Ren to have settled fully into his role as leader of the evil organization, and perhaps to have come to full realization of his place in the Dark Side. He wobbled a little bit in the previous movie.
I still think that kid we saw at the end of The Last Jedi will play a role, somehow, and this would give him time to have grown up a little bit and become more in tune with the Force. Then again, who knows if J.J. Abrams will pick up any of the plot threads Johnson left for him.
Star Wars: Episode 9 opens December 20th 2019.
