There has only been one question on every Star Wars’ fans mind since December 18th, 2015. Who is Rey’s daddy and what does he do?
It seems that Star Wars fans all over the world will have to wait quite a bit longer than expected to find out the answers to the many questions posed in The Force Awakens. Today Disney issued an official press statement explaining that the sequel to The Force Awakens would be changing its release date. Up until today the movie, being written and directed by Rian Johnson (Looper), was set to be released on May 26, 2017. It will now be released on December 15th, 2017, an almost seven month difference.
There have been strong rumors in recent weeks that Johnson has been furiously doing rewrites on the script in an effort to include more of the characters who connected with audiences. Presumably beefing up the roles of Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega) and Rey (Daisy Ridley) in particular. There is also another added benefit of altering the release date. It moves the sequel from the crowded summer movie season, to the same December window where The Force Awakens became the largest grossing film in North American history. It also sets a new pattern for moviegoers, who will grow to expect a Star Wars film in the winter.
Taking the time to get the movie right, over rushing a production to meet an arbitrary day on the calendar, is the right move to make. Regardless, we will still be getting a Star Wars movie every year for the foreseeable future, with Rogue One the next release on the slate this December. Here is the official press release from Disney.
Official Press Release:
Star Wars: Episode VIII, originally scheduled for release on May 26, 2017, will now debut on December 15, 2017. The move follows the extraordinary success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which was the first Star Wars movie 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 VIII is 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 to StarWars.com for exciting updates in the coming weeks.
Star Wars: Episode VIII will now open on December 15, 2017.
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Source: IGN