'Star Wars' Episode 8: Release Date: What's In Store In The Next Installment
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" has just premiered in theaters and fans are already clamoring for episode 8, which is slated for a 2017 release.
Since "Star Wars" episode 8 is still 17 months away, fans will have to be content in anticipating the next movie titled "Rogue One." The standalone film will be released on Dec. 16, 2016, but the real movie, which follows "The Force Awakens," will debut on May 16, 2017, according to Bustle.
Last year, it was announced that renowned sci-fi movie director Rian Johnson will direct episode 8. In an interview with Bang Showbiz during the European premiere of the movie, Lucasfilm president and producer Kathleen Kennedy confirmed that all of the main characters will return for the next episode, Christian Today reports.
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"There will be a handful of new cast members in 'Episode VIII' but also all the cast members you see here tonight will be in it as well," Kennedy told Bang Showbiz.
This means fans will once again see Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Lupita Nyong'o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill reprise their roles in "The Force Awakens" for the next installment of the franchise.
Entertainment Weekly revealed that some of the scenes for episode 8 were already shot in Ireland in September. The main photo event will commence in January 2016, the report adds.
Moreover, "Star Wars" will follow the same format in which the movies are released in groups of threes. Episode 9, which will end the current trilogy, will come out in 2019.
The script for the next episode is already done and Scott Ridley told Variety that it is "very good." For now, fans will have to wait until May 16, 2017 for "Star Wars" episode 8 and see if it meets their expectations or not.
