'Star Wars 8' Release Date Postponed for Several Months in the Hope of Following 'The Force Awakens'' Success
"Star Wars" fans will have to extend their patience as the next installment to the series, "Star Wars: Episode VIII," has been moved to a holiday release date. But the space left by "Star Wars 8" will be filled by another title hailing from the Seven Seas.
Disney and Lucasfilm announced in a press release that "Star Wars: Episode VIII" will now be shown on Dec. 15, 2017. The film was originally scheduled to release in the summer, specifically May 26, 2017.
Filling its vacated slot will be another Disney movie, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales." The pirate tale's release date was moved earlier from July 7.
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"The move follows the extraordinary success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which was the first Star Wars movie to premiere outside the traditional summer blockbuster window and smashed numerous records, including biggest domestic and global debuts of all time as well as the biggest domestic second and third weekends, en route to becoming the highest grossing domestic release of all time with over $861.3 million and the third biggest global release ever with $1.886.7 billion," Disney and Lucasfilm said.
As mentioned, "The Force Awakens" is the first movie in the franchise that did not release in the summer. Thanks to its tremendous success, it looks like "Star Wars" will be a holiday event. In addition to "Star Wars 8," the anthology "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" is also scheduled to hit theaters on Dec. 16, 2016.
As with "The Force Awakens," rumor of last-minute script changes has also sprouted for "Star Wars 8." These, however, are not uncommon for major movies.
The change in release date pegs "Star Wars 8" against "Avatar 2," which targets a launch in December 2017. "Ready Player One" from Steven Spielberg and Warner Bros. will also open on Dec. 15, 2017, while "Croods 2" and "The Six-Million Dollar Man" release a few days before Christmas on Dec. 22, 2017.
"Star Wars 8" will continue the story of Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and others. The movie, which is written and directed by Rian Johnson, is currently in preproduction and will begin filming in London in February.
