Here’s some slightly naff news for you: having been originally scheduled for a May 2017 release date, Star Wars: Episode VIII will now be released on 15 December 2017 instead.
Although we’re slightly disappointed at this news (although not too much; with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story out in December 2016, we’re still getting a Star Wars movie every year, so it’s not like we’re being starved of the saga), it makes sense. For a start, 19 months from the release of The Force Awakens up until the original release date of Episode VIII always seemed like a small amount of time in our eyes, so having a bit more time to make sure it matches the high benchmark put in place by its predecessor is fine with us.
Secondly, The Force Awakens has gone on to me massively successful, grossing $1.87 billion at the time of writing. With this in mind, Disney would understandably want to do as little as possible to tamper with a winning formula, which necessitates sticking to the relatively isolated Christmas release slot rather than joining all the rest of the blockbusters at the start of summer. Even if it doesn’t quite manage to knock Avatar off the top of the highest grossing films of all time list, it’s still done some pretty serious business, and you can’t imagine Disney wanting to change anything that contributed to this.
Moving up into the vacant May 2017 slot is Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Well, that’s something… right?
The film will see the likes of Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie and Andy Serkis reprise their roles, with Benicio del Doro also having joined the cast, and Rian Johnson on directing duties.
Star Wars: Episode VIII will be released in cinemas on 15 December 2017. You can download our Complete Manuals to the Original Trilogy and Expanded Universe from GreatDigitalMags.com.
