Bob Iger sent an annual report to Disney stockholders!
Ok, so this isn’t riveting news but in this report Mr. Iger does give us a glimpse of the upcoming schedule for Star Wars movies. (The annual report was received and shared by David Gremillion from Get Your Geek On) Iger writes:
"I can assure the millions of Star Wars fans who have spent the last decade hoping for a new movie this one (The Force Awakens) will be worth the wait. And it’s only the beginning of a new era of exceptional Star Wars storytelling; next year we’ll release our first standalone movie based on these characters, followed by Star Wars: Episode VIII in 2017, and we’ll finish this trilogy with Episode IX in 2019."
Iger points out that after The Force Awakens in December, 2015, the first standalone movie will hit theaters in 2016. Episode VIII will show in 2017 and Episode IX in 2019. This isn’t a surprise to many Star Wars fans but Iger has given these dates more credibility.
Now that the dates are more certain, there is concern among some that there is too much Star Wars on the way. Fans don’t want the market to get over-saturated, thereby losing excitement and momentum for new Star Wars movies. Many are comparing the list of upcoming Star Wars movies to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and their list of upcoming movies. This comparison, however, should encourage Star Wars fans rather than discourage. Look at the comparison of Star Wars and Marvel movies below. (I have added another standalone movie in 2018 even though this is not a date confirmed by Iger.)
This visual comparison shows how Marvel is churning out far and away more movies than Lucasfilm has planned for the coming years. Some would argue that, due to their ambitious release schedule, Marvel is not producing the highest quality product but their movies are in no way low quality. Marvel has shown that you can put out good movies even with a packed schedule. The extra time Lucasfilm has left themselves between movies should keep the level of quality high and keep fans happy with the great stories being told.
So be encouraged Star Wars fans! Over the next few years we are going to have a lot of Star Wars to enjoy with plenty of time between installments for meditation and lightsaber training.
Source: Star Wars Underworld
What do you think Dork Siders? Is this timeline for new movies too ambitious or should we sit back and enjoy the fun? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think.