With the announcement that Star Wars: Episode VIII was moving from its initially slotted release date of May 2017 to the now-coveted holiday slot of December 2017, it seemed like Disney and Lucasfilm were setting the stage to make the further adventures in a galaxy far, far away a yearly Christmas tradition. However, it now appears that, at least at this stage, the movie about a young Han Solo will remain a spring release, in May 2018.
Disney CEO Bob Iger spoke about all things intergalactic during the company’s quarterly earnings call and discussed where things stand with each of the announced films in the franchise. Iger said Rian Johnson‘s Episode VIII has begun filming and Colin Trevorrow‘s Episode IX, a 2019 release, is apparently also already in production, though its release date hasn’t been announced yet. But the most interesting of all came when Iger talked about the spinoff stories.
Gareth Edwards‘ Rogue One—about the group of Rebels stealing the plans of the original Death Star—is virtually finished filming (and he says its great), and they’re already in pre-production on Chris Miller and Phil Lord‘s Han Solo prequel. I for one can’t image it’ll stay in that May 25, 2018 slot that was announced last July—what with Disney’s other cash cow, Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1 already confirmed for May 4, 2018—but maybe they’re not so worried about potentially splitting up the nerd money.
Whether it moves to December 2018, stays firm in May, or moves to another month, the fact that Disney’s planning for at least another five Star Wars films in as many years sort of has our minds reeling, especially after the success of The Force Awakens. Like, what if they’re all that good?!?!
Let us know your thoughts on young Han Solo’s springtime release date, and really any other Star Wars thing, in the comments below!
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HT: Entertainment Weekly
Image: Lucasfilm/20th Century Fox
Kyle Anderson is the Weekend Editor and a film and TV critic for Nerdist.com. Follow him on Twitter!
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