I had heard a rumor that a new writer was hired to come in to make changes to the upcoming Star Wars VIII movie, and it looks like the changes are enough to cause the studio to push the release of the next installment of Star Wars back a few months.
The Walt Disney Studios announced today that Star Wars: Episode VIII, which was originally scheduled for a May 26, 2017 release will now debut on December 15, 2017. While the rumors of script rewrites may be a reason, more than likely Disney looked at the success of a December release for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and hopes that lightning strikes twice.
Written and directed by Rian Johnson, Star Wars: Episode VIII is currently in pre-production and will begin principal photography in London next month. Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman will produce and J.J. Abrams, Tom Karnowski, and Jason McGatlin will executive produce.
With the shift in release date, Disney needed to fill a hole in its schedule, and is moving Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales to May 26th. That now means Disney has an open spot for a July 7, 2017 release – perhaps another Marvel movie?
What is your reaction to this news? Is moving the date back to December okay with you – especially if it makes for a better movie, or is it sad that Disney is moving away from the historical May schedule that worked for Star Wars: A New Hope so long ago?
4 Comments
I’m bummed that I have to wait another 5 months but I’m all for making the script the best it can be. I’m just happy that JJ Abrams isn’t director.
I just hope they don’t over think it.
I wonder how big the budget is gonna end up to be. More delays mean more opportunities to spend, Spend, SPEND!
Wasn’t it just the other day that AVR was saying on the Major Spoilers Podcast, in discussing a possible romance between Po and Finn being worked into the story, that the movie was pretty much already shot and it wasn’t like they were going to make such a big change just because fans seem to want ti? Pretty ironic if you ask me… ;-)