If you’re hungry for more episodic “Star Wars” movies, a.k.a. the continuation of the story of Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and the rest of the new class (along with some of the legacy players), you may have to wait awhile. Disney just pushed “Episode VIII” back.

Disney announced via a press release that “Episode VIII” will be pushed back from the original release date of May 26, 2017, to Dec. 15, 2017.

Directed by Rian Johnson, “Episode VIII” is currently in preproduction and, also according to the Disney release, will begin principal photography next month in London.

This new release date puts “Episode VIII” only a handful of days before James Cameron’s “Avatar 2.” And directly against Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One.” May the great money wars of nerdy film movies begin!


Also in the announcement was the news that the upcoming “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” will be scuttled forward to fill the vacant “Star Wars” spot on May 26, 2017. It was originally supposed to premiere in July of that same year.

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