Disney delays release of next ‘Star Wars’ to late 2017

Star Wars: Episode VIII was due to go on global release in May 2017 but instead will not be aired until the following December.

Star Wars: Episode VIII has been delayed until Christmas 2017.

The next and eighth episode in the Star Wars saga will premiere in December 15 2017, seven months later than originally planned, Disney and Lucasfilm announced Wednesday.

Hollywood blockbusters released during the summer months have drawn in the biggest audiences in recent years but Disney noted the success of The Force Awakens, which was released worldwide last month.

Speaking on the “Meet the Movies” podcast, Jeff Sneider from The Wrap explained that the principal photography for the film has been postponed to February this year instead of this month, to give Rian Johnson some time to complete the script rewrite. Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman will produce and J.J. Abrams, Tom Karnowski, and Jason McGatlin will executive produce. The film opened on December 31.

Star Wars: Rogue One is the first in a series of Star Wars Anthology films; the second film in this Anthology is expected to be a Han Solo origin story.

Plus, with a Summer 2017 shaped hole opening up in Disney’s itinerary, it’s allowed Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales to slide into the May 26, 2017 spot.

Mark Hamill’s character Luke Skywalker is set to have a prominent role in the sequel, while Daisy Ridley is returning as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, “Game of Thrones” star Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma and Adam Driver will be donning his black mask and hood again as villain Kylo Ren.

But while Star Wars occupies the number one spot in United Kingdom box office history, it is no longer at the top of the weekly chart.