We Have An Update On The Star Wars Episode VIII Release Date

Star Wars fans despair! We're going to have to wait a little bit longer than we previously thought to see the next installment in the Star Wars franchise.

The release of the yet to be titled new Star Wars film has been pushed back by a few months from the summer of 2017 to December 15th; more in line with the release date of The Force Awakens. The news was confirmed by Disney and Lucasfilm yesterday. It's not entirely clear whether this is because The Force Awakens did so incredibly well with a Christmas release or because there has been some sort of delay in production. The announcement of the delay on StarWars.com seems to indicate the former pointing to the fact that Episode VII grossed $1.886.7 billion worldwide with a December release. It was the highest grossing film in US domestic box office history and the third highest grossing worldwide, ever.

Sorry, Star Wars fans! I guess we just have to sit tight and hope that the Star Wars spin-off movie 'Rogue One', released this December, can tide us over until the end of 2017. (screenshot below)

Currently in pre-production, Episode VIII begins filming in London in February. Rian Johnson is writing and directing this one with The Force Awakens' director JJ Abrams signed on as one of the producers.

H/T & images: Star Wars Official Website