December may feel like a galaxy far far away at this point, but Disney isn't wasting time in setting up what comes next. We've long expected that the follow-up to Star Wars: The Force Awakens would be followed up by a Gareth Edwards-directed spinoff film, then Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode VIII, although nothing had been confirmed. Today all of that changes as both films now have release dates, and one has a very revealing title.
Disney and Lucasfilm have announced that Star Wars: Episode VIII will arrive on May 26th 2017 with Johnson writing and directing. Give or take a day that's forty years from the release of Star Wars: A New Hope into theaters, which is pretty cool and obviously done for a reason. Johnson may also stick around to write Episode IX but has not been officially set as its director.
That will be followed the next year by Edwards' standalone film, which has been titled Star Wars: Rogue One. Oscar-nominee Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything) has been confirmed for one of the leads, as had been previously reported. Chris Weitz (Cinderella) will write the script, but plot are being kept under wraps for now. The rumors are that it will center on a group of bounty hunters, but the title suggests it could have something to do with the formation of the Rogue Squadron, the rebels' X-wing fighter pilots who joined Luke Skywalker's attack on the Death Star. Rogue One begins filming this summer for release on December 16th 2016.
