It was revealed earlier this week that production for ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ was pushed back a month due to rewrites by Rian Johnson to create more screen time for Rey, Finn, Poe and lessening the roles for the two new female characters that will be introduced in the film. (Meet The Movie Press)
Today, Disney announced that it is moving Star Wars: Episode VIII from its original May 26, 2017 release date to Dec. 15, 2017. Taking over Episodes VIII’s old Memorial Day slot is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales which is moving up from its July 7, 2017 date.
OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FROM DISNEY
“Star Wars: Episode VIII, originally scheduled for release on May 26, 2017, will now debut on December 15, 2017. The move follows the extraordinary success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which was the first Star Wars movie to premiere in December. In the popular holiday moviegoing corridor, it smashed numerous records, including biggest domestic and global debuts of all time as well as the biggest domestic second and third weekends, en route to becoming the highest grossing domestic release of all time with over $861M and the third biggest global release ever with $1.887B.”
