Originally scheduled for release in Winter 2017, the next installment in the Star Wars saga will now hit cinemas 15 December 2017, almost 2 years to the day from the release of The Force Awakens.
A statement on StarWars.com revealed the news, citing the success of The Force Awakens being released outside of the traditional blockbuster film period.
The film “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 $861.3 million and the third biggest global release ever with $1,886.7 billion,” the statement reads.
Star Wars: Episode VIII is in pre-production, with filming scheduled to begin next month in London. Confirmed to be on board are writer and director Rian Johnson and producers Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman.
J.J. Abrams will return in an executive producer role, along with Jason McGatlin and Tom Karnowski.
Hey, a delay can only mean more time to get it perfect, right?