Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Entertainment
  3. News

Disney delays Star Wars: Episode VIII, replaces it with Jack Sparrow

By

Star Wars The Force Awakens
Disney
Disney has given Star Wars fans a lot to love this year, but an announcement Wednesday will likely be much less well-received: The studio has elected to delay the theatrical release of Star Wars: Episode VIII, pushing it back from its previously scheduled May 26, 2017 berth to December 15, 2017. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales will take over the film’s original slot.

The studio didn’t explain the reasoning behind the move, but we suspect that the titanic success of Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens may have been a primary factor. The film opened in U.S. theaters on December 18 to much fanfare, breaking all-time domestic box office records in less than a month. Why would Disney want to mess with a good thing?

Recommended Videos

The move also frees up a very desirable date for another one of the studio’s wildly popular franchises. Dead Men Tell No Tales was previously set for July 7, 2017, but now it’ll have the chance to open over Memorial Day weekend. The new berth should position the Johnny Depp-starrer for even greater box office success without drastically shortening its post-production phase. The film has already entered that stage, whereas Episode VIII is still in pre-production.

Star Wars fans may not be crazy about having to wait almost seven more months for the next installment in the current trilogy, but there is a silver lining: The extra time will hopefully ensure that director Rian Johnson has all the time he needs to put together a satisfying follow-up to JJ Abrams’ excellent revitalization of the franchise. There’s no reason to think he wouldn’t (after all, J.J. Abrams reportedly loved his script), but more time can’t hurt. Furthermore, with spin-off Rogue One: A Star Wars Story set for December 16, 2016, we’ll have something to tide us over.

The hope for Star Wars fans of all shapes and sizes is that pre-production troubles had no bearing on the date swap.

As if the wait wasn’t long enough already, this is a pretty big push for a film of this magnitude. The “Good things come…” proverb may be the only solace for Star Wars mega fans at this moment — that and the reprieve offered by Rogue One on Dec 16.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Stephanie Topacio Long
Stephanie Topacio Long
Contributor
Stephanie Topacio Long is a writer and editor whose writing interests range from business to books. She also contributes to…
5 things we want to see in Star Wars: The Acolyte
Dafne Keen as Jecki in Star Wars: The Acolyte.

Star Wars: The Acolyte aims to be one of the more unique additions to the Star Wars universe. This upcoming series will give audiences their first look into the world of the Jedi during the age of the High Republic. Specifically, it will follow the Jedi near the end of this era as they investigate a string of crimes that will have them uncover evil forces brewing in the shadows.

Due to the open-ended nature of this piece of Star Wars history, fans can only imagine what The Acolyte will add to the franchise. But until it premieres, here's hoping the show will feature these five things in its first season.
The Jedi-Sith War

Read more
The Acolyte’s first trailer embraces the Dark Side of Star Wars
Amandla Stenberg in The Acolyte.

Since the launch of Disney+ in 2019, there have been four live-action Star Wars series, including The Mandalorian and Andor. But the one thing that each of those shows had in common was that they followed the hero of the story. This summer, The Acolyte is flipping the switch on that by putting the spotlight on Mae (Amandla Stenberg), a former Padawan in the Jedi Order who seems to have quite a grudge against her onetime masters. That may be why Mae is attacking and apparently killing Jedi with knives in the first trailer for The Acolyte.

The Acolyte | Official Trailer | Disney+

Read more
Star Wars could’ve had Christopher Walken as Han Solo and Jodie Foster as Princess Leia
An old man talks in Dune: Part Two.

The great thing about a hit movie is that you tend to find out things during interviews, premieres, and press conferences that would have never surfaced otherwise. Dune: Part Two is one such movie. In the lead-up to the movie's blockbuster opening weekend, we've discovered Josh Brolin's hidden talents as a poet and photographer, Javier Bardem's dedication to his children, Zendaya's love for the sci-fi classic Metropolis, and Austin Butler's appreciation for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The most recent revelation, however, tops all of those. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Christopher Walken, who plays Shaddam IV, the film's fearsome Emperor, explains why he came out of a four-year break from acting in films and joined Dune: Part Two. One reason was due to his admiration for the first film, which cemented Denis Villeneuve's status as one of the best sci-fi directors ever, and his appreciation of the sequel's impressive cast, which also includes Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, and Dave Bautista.

Read more