It is a huge day for Star Wars news. Earlier this morning at a shareholder meeting, Disney chariman and CEO Bob Iger not only revealed the title of the first spin-off movie in the series, but also revealed who would be directing Episode VIII.
:Heavy Breathing:
First off, that 2016 “standalone” movie. It’s called Rogue One, and will be directed by Godzilla‘s Gareth Edwards, and written by Oscar nominee Chris Weitz.
So far, only one member of the cast has been revealed, and it’s recently Academy Award-nominated Felicity Jones.
When will we be seeing it?
Production will begin this summer in London, with a planned release date of December 16, 2016.
And what’s this about Episode VIII?
In addition to all that, Iger also revealed that as rumored, J.J. Abrams would not be returning to direct Star Wars: Episode VIII. Replacing him will be the incredibly talented Rian Johnson, the guy behind Looper, Brick, The Brothers Bloom, and several of the best episodes of Breaking Bad.
And when is that one coming out?
Episode VIII is currently slated for May 26, 2017, which is surprisingly, considering it will break the series’ trend of December release dates. It will also put it a little closer to when Disney typically schedules their spring Marvel movie, but hey, clearly they have a plan.
