The next chapter in the saga is pushed from summer to winter.
Disney and Lucasfilm have recently announced that the release date for Star Wars: Episode VIII has been pushed from May 26, 2017, to December 15, 2017.
While the official press release does not cite any reasoning behind the delay, the orignal story shows how The Force Awakens had a stellar performance with a December release date, as the film is the highest grossing domestic release of all time, and is currently the third biggest global release of all time.
It’s more than possible this delay was made in an attempt to recapture the success Episode VII found as a winter release, but there could be more factors than that.
For example, Disney has loaded 2017 summer movie schedule, with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Cars 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 5, and Sony’s MCU Spider-Man film all coming out weeks apart.
This delay could have been done to ensure breathing room/ box office success for these films.
There is also the less cynical explanation, which is the delay was made to ensure a quality film. Episode VIII is still in pre-production, so extra time for filming and VFX work is probably needed.
If this delay means we’re getting another excellent film…
We can’t complain.
Star Wars: Episode VIII (now) hits theaters on December 15, 2017.
