When Disney first acquired Lucasfilm and all of its intellectual property back in 2012, people assumed that the company would breathe new life into the various properties, not to mention George Lucas’ beloved film franchise, with the release of a new installment. Fast forward to the present day and Disney’s plans for Star Wars have proven to be much, much greater, with The Force Awakens primed to kick off a new trilogy this December alongside the release of adjacent standalone pictures in the same universe every other year.
It’s a bold, Marvel-esque cinematic plan, and today the studio has attached dates to Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: Episode VIII and Star Wars: Episode XI which will, as we expected, release in 2017 and 2019, respectively. If Disney’s current galactic slate is anything to go by, then we can expect these iterations to make their bow in December.
In a statement picked up by Get Your Geek On, the company’s CEO and Chairman Bob Iger touched upon the future of the Star Wars franchise going forward:
As one of the few people allowed to visit the set during filming….and one of the fewer who’s seen most of the footage…I can assure the millions of Star Wars fans who have spent the last decade hoping for a new movie this one will be worth the wait. And it’s only the beginning of a new era of exceptional Star Wars storytelling; next year we’ll release our first standalone movie based on these characters, followed by Star Wars: Episode VIII in 2017, and we’ll finish this trilogy with Episode IX in 2019.
Though this release schedule aligns with what many had already assumed, it’s nice to know that Disney is committing to these dates so far out. On a related note, we learned earlier today that Orphan Black‘s Tatiana Maslany is circling the lead female role in Gareth Edwards’ upcoming standalone flick, which is due to release in December of next year.
As things stand, Star Wars fans can now look forward to a brand new installment every year, as the episodic releases alternate with the spinoffs. And that, dear readers, is something we can’t help but feel giddy about.
