‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ release delayed to December 2017

Episode VIII will now hit cinemas on 15 December 2017, pushed back seven months from the initial debut date of 26 May 2017. Production delays and mid-filming rewrites are classic signs of disaster to come, but surely Star Wars couldn’t revert back to prequel settings following the smashing success of The Force Awakens.

Aside from the editing of the script, it was also heard that the new episode of “Star Wars” will feature an Asian actress tasked to play one of the female roles in the film. Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac, who were all introduced in “The Force Awakens”, will return to star.

The much anticipated sequel will begin principle photography in London next month.

A number of reasons are being cited for the move, with one of the most obvious being the success of “The Force Awakens”. No details were released for the planned plot of the next movie nor even the new title for the next film.

The first Avatar earned $2.7 billion worldwide, making it the most successful movie ever made in terms of box office earnings, ahead of Titanic which was also directed by Cameron. This story will be set shortly before the events of Star Wars in 1977, and follow the journey of some rebel spies, looking to steal plans for the Death Star.

Some bad news for Star Wars fans.

Though “Star Wars” was once synonymous with the summer blockbuster, the date change means that the franchise will again look to dominate movie theaters in the holiday season. Giving fans a further six months to wait for the next Star Wars instalment. That puts it on the same weekend The Force Awakens dominated to end 2015, setting up another giant marketing push on that same schedule. Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman will produce and J.J. Abrams, Tom Karnowski, and Jason McGatlin will executive produce.