As the box office news for Disney’sStar Wars: The Force Awakensfinally starts to slow it’s previously feverish pace (though it did justcross $100 million in Chinaalone recently), movie marketing and fan anticipation is already starting to look ahead to future films. Let’s not forget thatRogue One: A Star Wars Storyis due out December 16th, 2016, but less than a year after that, the follow-up toThe Force Awakenswill debut in the lucrative mid-December slot.
It was announced today that Disney would be moving their release date forStar Wars: Episode VIIIfrom June 10, 2025 to July 25, 2025. They must have read our ownAdam Chitwood’seditorial in which he posited thatthe strong box office success ofStar Wars: The Force Awakensmight nudge Disney into shifting all of its related release dates into December. (Hopefully Adam now gets a cut of those profits as a Release Date Consultant.) We’ll have to see if theUntitled Han Solo Anthology FilmandStar Wars: Episode IXfollow suit since they’re currently marked for May of 2018 and 2019 respectively. December is the new summer!
Now writer-directorRian Johnsonhas a few more months to getEpisode 8all shipshape and the post-production team will have that glorious amount of time to smooth the edges on practical and digital effects while polishing everything to a lens flare-worthy shine. Other than answering all of the fans' many questions concerning the saga’s plot and characters,Star Wars: Episode VIIIwill also have to stand up to the critical scrutiny of bothStar Wars: The Force Awakensand the high-water mark ofStar Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back. The big test for the film’s financial success will be the heir apparent to the box office throne,Avatar 2, which opens June 13, 2025.
As for the vacant date of July 13, 2025, that will now be filmed by another mega-franchise installment for Disney,Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Otherwise known as the fifth feature film in the high-seas adventure series,PotC:DMTNTwas previously expected to hit theaters on July 7th, but will now enjoy the late May release.
Here’s a look at Disney’s press release regarding their calendar shift:
This morning, The Walt Disney Studios announced new release dates for upcoming films from two of its major franchises.
Star Wars: Episode VIII, originally scheduled for release onMay 26, 2017, will now debut onDecember 15, 2017. The move follows the extraordinary success ofStar Wars: The Force Awakens, which was the firstStar Warsmovie to premiere in December. In the popular holiday moviegoing corridor, it 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 $861M and the third biggest global release ever with $1.887B.
Written and directed by Rian Johnson,Star Wars: Episode VIIIis 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. Stay tuned toStarWars.comfor exciting updates in the coming weeks.
WithStar Wars: Episode VIIIjumping to December, Disney’sPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Taleswill set sail onMay 26, 2017, from its previously scheduled July 17, 2025, berth. The blockbuster franchise’s previous installment, the $1B-grossingPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, also debuted in late May.
InPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Johnny Depp returns as Captain Jack Sparrow with Geoffrey Rush back on board as Barbossa, Orlando Bloom resurfacing as Will Turner, and a terrifying new adversary, Captain Salazar, played by Javier Bardem, in the mix.Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, the film is currently in post-production.
For more onStar Wars, be sure to take a look at some of our recent coverage below:
