The real reason Star Wars movies will go on hiatus after Episode IX

In an April 2019 interview with Bloomberg, Walt Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger made an unexpected announcement. He stated that, after the release of Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker, the Star Wars franchise will go on "hiatus" for a while. Iger didn't give much information on the reason why Star Wars is taking a break, apart from saying, "We will take a pause, some time, and reset, because the Skywalker saga comes to an end with this ninth movie."

Although he was reluctant at that time to give a firm date for when the next Star Wars film would be coming, Disney later released their upcoming slate of films on May 7, 2019, revealing that the first post-Episode IX return to the galaxy far, far away is scheduled to drop in 2022.

A couple years ago, we were led to believe that we'd be getting an endless string of Star Wars films every year or two, stretching into the future for all eternity. Why did Disney suddenly decide to put the franchise in carbonite?

The internet is abuzz with speculation over why this could be, and what this will mean for the future of Star Wars. We have a few theories of our own, so let's run down the most likely reasons why Star Wars films are going on hiatus after The Rise of Skywalker, and what other projects will tide us over until the hiatus ends.