Disney and Lucasfilm have announced that Star Wars: Episode VIII, originally scheduled for release in May 2017, will now debut seven months later on December 15, 2017.
Star Wars: Episode VIII is currently in preproduction and will begin principal photography in London next month. The next movie in the franchise is written and directed by Rian Johnson; Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman will produce; and J.J. Abrams, Jason McGatlin, and Tom Karnowski will executive produce.
The movie follows the success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, currently en route to becoming the highest grossing domestic release of all time with more than $861.3 million and the third biggest global release ever with approximately $1.9 billion.