According to a report by
Entertainment Weekly, Disney CEO
Bob Iger confirmed that Rian Johnson’s
Star Wars: Episode VIII has begun filming!
"Filming of Star Wars: Episode VIII, the next chapter of the legendary saga, has just commenced and it will be in theaters December 2017." Awesome, right? He also revealed that "
production of Episode IX, a 2019 release, has also begun." Even though it's still unclear was he meant about the
"Episode IX" portion of the quote, the eighth
Star Wars film was originally set to be released next year in May, however, Disney pushed back the released date to December of 2017, so they could try and match the success of T
he Force Awakens.
I know most of you are getting ready for the next adventure in the galaxy far, far away, but the success of
Star Wars: The Force Awakens isn't yet done. Iger also revealed that
The Force Awakens made more than
$3 billion globally in consumer products (merchandise, ticket sales, etc.)
“There is no better way to propel this franchise into the future than producing quality products.” Quality products are indeed a huge part of the franchise. An example of this is when fans fought and created a movement to get more Rey products made. That not only increased the sales, but it showed you just how much the fans loved the characters in the film.
Along with that above, the Disney CEO also provided an update for
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, revealing that the
“Filming of Rogue One is virtually completed and we absolutely love what we’ve seen so far." He then continued,
"This is the first of a set of planned stand-alone stories and we’re already in pre-production on our next one, for release in May of 2018." Speaking of stand-alone stories, Iger revealed that the Han Solo solo film will keep its May release date. What do you think about this? Do you think Luke will take that lightsaber from Rey? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!