Date for release of Star Wars VIII announced, new standalone movie named ‘Rouge One’
The second Star Wars film in the new trilogy coming out by Disney, Star Wars: Episode VIII, will be released in theaters on May 26, 2017, Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger said during the annual shareholder meeting in San Francisco.
The meeting took place just across the street from Lucasfilm.
Rian Johnson will write and direct Star Wars: Episode VIII, Iger announced. The film continues the saga after the events of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (which come out Dec. 16, 2015). The May 26, 2017 release date is 40 years and a day after the release of the original Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977.
Johnson is widely considered one of cinema’s most gifted young filmmakers, having directed the modern sci-fi classic, Looper,
In addition to the new trilogy, Disney announced the title of one of the new standalone Star Wars universe movies being released, “Rouge One.”
The storyline came from John Knoll, visual effects guru and CEO of Industrial Light and Magic, Iger said.
The movie stars Felicity Jones and will be directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla) and written by Oscar nominee Chris Weitz (Cinderella, About a Boy, Antz).
