It’s a sad time for fans of the Star Wars franchise as Disney have announced that there will be a 7-month delay until Episode VIII‘s release date. It’s been reported that the next film instalment won’t hit US cinemas until 15 December 2017.
Although this will be seen as bad news for most, with its original US release being May 26 2017, this could be good news for the health of the franchise. Rumour has it that the Rian Johnson-directed instalment is getting a rewrite ahead of filming. A December release date also helps ensure multiple viewings of the film – something which has proven well for its success, bringing in close to US$2 Billion worldwide already.
The downside for the film is that it will potentially go up against another Blockbuster trilogy – the next Avatar instalment. Though James Cameron has said that the December 2017 release date is subject to change – something which one would expect given the changes to Star Wars‘ schedule.
Despite the long pause on the eighth movie of the Star Wars franchise, Disney movie lovers can now look forward to the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales in Star Wars’ original May 2017 spot, moving a couple of months earlier from its original July date. Meanwhile, the first Star Wars Anthology film Rogue One will be released this December.
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