Savor the moment whenStar Wars 9rolls around this December—it may be the last newStar Warsmovie for a little while. All involved at Lucasfilm and Disney have been touting the upcoming film as “the end of the Skywalker saga,” and with that comes something of a “reset” according to Disney CEOBob Iger.
Speaking withBloomberg(viaThe Playlist), Iger revealed that afterStar Wars: Episode IX, the movies will be taking a bit of a break:
“We have not announced any specific plans for movies thereafter. There are movies in development, but we have not announced them. We will take a pause, some time, and reset because the Skywalker saga comes to an end with this ninth movie. There will be other Stars Wars movies, but there will be a bit of a hiatus.”
This makes a lot of sense, and also jibes with what we at Colliderexclusively broke last summer: that allStar Warsspinoffs are currently on hold. For one, there are noStar Warsmovies shooting or even about to be shooting right now, so there’s almost no way a newStar Warsfilm could be ready for release in 2020. Additionally, the other major project Lucasfilm has been focused on right now isThe Mandalorian, the first-ever live-actionStar WarsTV series that’s due to launch on Disney’s new streaming service Disney+ this fall. From a business perspective, the one-two punch ofEpisode IXandThe Mandalorianlater this year will go a long way for Disney’s bottom line.
When Disney first acquired Lucasfilm, they announced their intention to create a new trilogy ofStar Warsfilms. That comes to an end with theJ.J. Abrams-directedEpisode IX, and while they’ve branched out with one-off movies likeRogue One, Lucasfilm suffered its first misstep under Disney with last year’sSolo: A Star Wars Story—which arrivedveryshortly afterStar Wars: The Last Jedi. WhileSolohas its fans, the film’s $392 million box office total pales in comparison to the rest of the franchise, and many cited an oversaturation ofStar Warsat the multiplex as a factor.
But as Iger says, otherStar Warsmovies are in development.The Last JedifilmmakerRian Johnsonis creating a new trilogy of films from scratch, but he’s currently busy in post-production on his murder mystery movieKnives Out. AndGame of ThronesshowrunnersDavid BenioffandD.B. Weissare developing a separate new series ofStar Warsmovies, but they’re currently deep in finishing up the final season ofGame of Thrones. One imagines Johnson and/or Benioff and Weiss will get to work on those newStar Warsfilms in earnest later this year, after their other obligations are complete, but I wouldn’t expect anything to roll cameras before the latter half of 2020 at the earliest. Meaning afterEpisode IX, we may not have a newStar Warsmovie in theaters until 2021.
Not to fear, though. BetweenThe Mandalorian,Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and the release ofEpisode IX, fans will have plenty to chew on all next year.
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