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Star Wars Episode VIII has been delayed until December 2017, and I knew this would happen. Why? Because, as The Hobbit trilogy proved, it will become a Christmas tradition. To that end, the Rogue One spin-off, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, is due in cinemas on 16th December 2016 and, while set in the Star Wars universe, it will feature new characters including one played by Felicity Jones (so good in The Theory of Everything).
The first two Hobbit films were scheduled for December 2012 and 2013, with the third originally due in June 2014, but it was pushed back to Christmas, no doubt because they raked in a billion dollars between them.
There was speculation that the May 2017 date would stick because it’s the 40th anniversary of the first Star Wars movie, A New Hope. Or rather, the fourth Star Wars movie, but you know what I mean.
But why? Script rewrites has been the suggestion, but then Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens was basically a rewrite of Episode IV and that still didn’t stop it becoming the highest-grossing movie to date, with $861m (£607m) across the pond, and $1.88bn globally.
A December 2017 release will make it clash on the IMAX screens with Avatar 2 (currently listed as December 25th, even though UK cinemas aren’t normally open on Christmas Day), but then a May 2017 release would’ve made it collide with Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
However, no release date is set in stone when it’s more than a year away. Or even a few months. Expect more span-shifting shenanigans to come!
In the meantime, click on the above image for the full-size version, and check out the video for all of the Episode VII trailers and clips in one place:
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.