The Future of Star Wars Movies

With Episode VII just around the corner, the future of Star Wars movies is bright.

As the days count down to a mere week, and more footage is released ahead of the big day, our collective anticipation for one of the biggest movie releases of all time reaches its tumultuous pinnacle. And as we sit here, giddily awaiting the release, we are reminded that the future of the Saga does not begin and end with this new movie. On the contrary, this marks the beginning of a new foray into the galaxy far, far away, with new talents taking the helm and a plethora of media and merch to keep us fueled on Star Wars for many years to come.

The Force Awakens is but the very beginning of the continuation of our beloved Saga, and according to Kathleen Kennedy in her interview with The Hollywood Reporter we can expect to see a lot in the near future. With that in mind, here’s a look at our post-Episode VII Star Wars movie schedule.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Rogue One will mark the first time we’ve seen a non-sequential Star Wars movie in theaters (discounting the animated Clone Wars film), and there’s been a lot of buzz around it. It’s already shaping up to be a decent cast with Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen, and Ben Mendelsohn signed on. Their director will be Gareth Edwards, a lifelong Star Wars fan.

Kennedy tells THR that they’ve been focusing on Rogue One for the past five months, and filming began in September with these set-shots from Elstree Studios in London. The standalone follows a small group of Rebels looking to steal the plans to the first Death Star (yes, the plans that end up in R2’s databank). Expect oppressive Imperial warfare from Edwards, in theaters on December 16th, 2016.

Star Wars: Episode VIII

So we know that the upcoming sequential episodes are a planned new trilogy, and we’ve recently heard who’s returning from Episode VII, so what can we expect from Episode VIII? By changing Episode VII‘s release date this year from May (the month in which past episodes have traditionally been released) to December, Kennedy says they changed the way the movies will be released:

"“This will be the only time that it’s really one right after the other, because our whole slate got upended a little bit when J.J. [Abrams] and I needed to postpone Episode VII from summer to Christmas…”"

This one will be directed by Rian Johnson, and although it doesn’t have a title as of yet it does have some new faces joining the cast, including Benicio Del Toro who suggested he’ll be playing a villain. Kennedy confirms that production will begin in January, with May 26th, 2017 as the targeted release date.

Han Solo spinoff, Episode IX and more…

More from Dork Side of the Force

2018 and 2019 look to hold a few encounters with old and new characters. Expect to see the climax of the new trilogy with Episode IX, directed by Jurassic World‘s Colin Trevorrow, some time in 2019 (don’t expect velociraptors chasing Jedi though. Even though that would be cool). A second Story movie will follow a young Han Solo in one of the hottest casting calls of current times (who DOESN’T want to be Han??!).

The far future sees a possible Boba Fett spinoff, which could easily be mixed into the Han Solo movie as a sort of cat-and-mouse, 1970s-esque thriller.

After that, hyperspace is the limit. Once the hype and glory of the Saga has opened new doors and welcomed so many more generations of fans, there can only be more story possibilities for Star Wars on the big screen.

Next: 5 Actors From The Force Awakens Confirmed For Episode VIII

So which movies are you most looking forward to? Being that the supreme secrecy on Episode VII is slowly showing itself through trailers and TV spots, we can now comfortably welcome what’s in store next week, and like Master Yoda would train us always keep our minds on the future. Be sure to check in with your friends at Dork Side, as we’ll have all the good stuff for you concerning the future of the Saga.