STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII Opens in May 2017, First Standalone Film Titled ROGUE ONE
Disney CEO Bob Iger spoke with investors on a call this morning, and he's revealed some information regarding the future of the Star Wars franchise. StarWars.com has the news. First up, Rian Johnson has been officially confirmed as the writer/director of Star Wars: Episode VIII (something the filmmaker has been pretty open about but the studio hadn't confirmed, for some mysterious reason, until now). That film has a release date of May 26th, 2017, moving away from the holiday release of Abrams' The Force Awakens and back into the traditional summer slot that Star Wars fans have come to expect.
Secondly, Gareth Edwards' standalone film has an official title: Star Wars: Rogue One. We'd heard rumors a while ago that the third standalone film might focus on the adventures of an X-Wing squadron, but the most current rumor suggests that this film will be about bounty hunters hired to steal the plans for The Death Star. None of the plot details have been confirmed for any of the upcoming movies yet, but Iger did say that the events depicted will "go well beyond the core Star Wars saga." He also said that Oscar nominee Felicity Jones will star in Rogue One, confirming a report from last month.
Exciting stuff! Here's the official announcement:
Rogue One is the title for the first film in a unique series of big-screen adventures that explores the characters and events beyond the core Star Wars saga. Rogue One will be directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla) and written by Oscar nominee Chris Weitz (Cinderella, About a Boy, Antz). The first actress cast is Felicity Jones, who garnered an Academy Award nomination and critical acclaim for her performance in The Theory of Everything. The idea for the story of Rogue One came from John Knoll, an Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor and chief creative officer at Industrial Light & Magic. He will executive produce along with Simon Emanuel (The Dark Knight Rises, Fast & Furious 6) and Jason McGatlin (Tintin, War of the Worlds). Kathleen Kennedy and Tony To (Band of Brothers, The Pacific) are on board to produce and John Swartz (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) will co-produce. The film starts shooting this summer in London and is due for release on December 16, 2016.
In addition, Iger confirmed that Rian Johnson will write and direct Star Wars: Episode VIII. The film, which continues the saga after the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is set for release on May 26, 2017 — forty years and a day after the release of Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977. Johnson is widely considered one of cinema’s most gifted young filmmakers, having directed the modern sci-fi classic, Looper, as well as Brick and The Brothers Bloom. He was also behind the camera for three episodes of the critically-acclaimed TV series Breaking Bad, including “Ozymandias,” which series creator Vince Gilligan named as the best installment of the show. Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman, producer of Looper, Don Jon, Brick, and The Brothers Bloom, are on board to produce.