ST When Should Episodes 8 and 9 Be Released?

I'm thinking exactly every 2 years for the ST is a little ambitious. I would not be surprised if it was pushed to a 2.5 year gap between films, so you'd have:

Ep 8 = May 2018
Ep 9 = Dec 2020

 

This is still the case. Episode VIII was being worked on in 2014. News broke of Rian Johnson joining the project in June.

Assuming that VIII comes out in December 2017, it'll actually have undergone a production process longer than three years - longer than ESB, ROTJ, AOTC, or TPM got. 38 months is a longer development cycle than 32.

I'm so excited

 

Yes I believe that got a director on the ball for writing quickly so that filming can commence soon after TFA is out.

I'd say pre-production will take place starting this summer. Then filming could begin as soon as January, 2016. Say, it will last 5-6 months and finish sometime in the summer of 2016.

Then we have post-production. This isn't as long as it used to be and TFA doesn't even need the time it was given but has that time because of the delayed release. Say, 6-7 months for post-production. Even that would complete the project by February or March 2017. A summer release would be no problem at all.

It's all about the competition.Look at 2017

May:
Guardians of the Galaxy will do HUGE numbers early. It's not Avengers or Avatar but has become immensely popular. It's got the same vibe as Star Wars. The soonest you'd want SW out would be Memorial Day which puts it against LEGO2. Now, LEGO 1 may just have been popular because NOTHING was out when it came out. Put it in May and the little toy blocks would be in a whole new sea of fish. The only other movie is supposedly Terminator 2 but we have no idea how the first one will do.

June
Early June is the most ideal time in the summer of 2017. Fantastic Four 2 is no issue and we don't even know if it will be made. FFReboot may suffer the fate of Green Lantern and Lone Ranger and even the director didn't say good things. They may shelf it or move it. HTTYD2 didn't do all that well EVEN WITH it being the only animated movie of 2014. Therefore, HTTYD3 won't be hotly anticipated. An opening of $48 milion and less than $177 million for the 2nd one is hardly competitive right now.

Then we get to late June. Wonder Woman is a question mark. Toy Story 4 and Despicable Me 3 are going to be HUGE and come out late in the month. They will have to contend with each other though. A June 2 release for Episode 8 would be perfect. Enough time before animation domination and well enough time after GOTG.

July
Busy month but does anyone really care about a 5th Pirates movie? Disney's in charge here. They can move it if they wanted to and make room for SW if they had to. Planet of the Apes has a draw and so does Thor, but none of those 3 movies will do much past $250 million and probably far less. July 21 is free but too squooshed. June is MUCH better.

November
Black Panter comes out on November 3. No work yet and no concept. Most people don't know about Black Panther as they don't about Ant Man. That's too far off to know if it will even be done. But very early November puts SWEp8 too far from a holiday. Thanksgiving is covered by the first Justice League movie (are they filming DOJ and JL back to back because that's DAMN quick).

December:
You have Avatar coming out. Initially, you had Avatar 3 which isn't as much of a problem because all trilogies wane by the 2nd or 3rd movie. But putting SW out within a week of Avatar is no better than a week from Avengers. Holiday time would be big but after that there's just too much competition from one movie to mess with after kids and college students go back to school. You could get a head start and move it to December 8 but that's an odd weekend and would have to make a LOT of money on a strange weekend. Doable but weird.

My choice? June 2 2017 or even Wednesday, May 31, 2017. It's not Memorial Day but close. Early June is HUGE for movies and you get the weekday totals to jack it up early. GOTG is fading and the animations are not out for 2-3 weeks and could draw a different crowd. The July movies are not big enough to really cause damage. Then they can take their choice for Episode 9 since all of late June and July are open as is Thanksgiving.

 

Yes stay in the winter!! Love it hopefully they change it to be completed by 2018. Glad they are released in Winter. Good job Disney

 

That won't work because of the Avatar sequels (even if they make half of the original that's still almost $400m). Cameron wouldn't move. Disney would have to shift dates.

Episode 8 and 9 will need more insulation and protection from competition than Episode 7 because the thrill of a new Star Wars movie will be gone by then (same reason Ep4 is the highest grossing) with Ep7 and a spinoff already released..

 

Star Wars has to run away from Avatar movies?? Thats pathetic. Star Wars should be able to come out whenever it wants. Disney have some balls.

 

VIII May 19th?
I too want to get back with the May Releases.. But with Guardians
2, might not happen. One can wish right?

 

I would like to see them return back to the summer slot. It doesn't have to be May per se, but anytime in the late spring/summer is fine with me. I'd be ok with June/July 2017 for Episode VIII and then maybe slide back into May for Episode IX?

I just like Star Wars in the summer, especially if you live in a winter climate, it's just not as fun to line up freezing your butt off. Not everyone lives in California or Florida.

Though they did release the SEs in the winter of 1997 and that wasn't so bad, but still.

To be honest does anyone feel like they could have released Episode VII say this July if they really wanted to? Seems like an awfully long wait considering the film basically wrapped in what, September? Unless Abrams is planning to do extensive reshoots, it does seem like a long wait.

 

Id like to see them all be completed by 2017 or 2018 so Disney can release their 3 film blu ray set and get a return on their investment. Disney needs more Star Wars media product out, so their new era of characters can dominate. After they release their Disney Trilogy, maybe start on an animated show featuring the new heroes and villains. They just have to flood the market with their stuff and merchandise.

 

That's a crappy way to do business. Have courage to put it up against the sequel to THE biggest movie of all time? To prove what? It's like 12 year olds seeing who can bench press more. Episode 8 is going to be a LOT more vulnerable than Avatar 2. If it were Avatar 3 we could have that discussion but not for Avatar 2.

AOTC went against Spiderman-actually a few weeks later and look at what happened. A $120 million drop in domestic gross.

 

Sorry guys but the new Star Wars movie release month is December now. Pretty sure that's obvious.

 

This has already been explained

They will come out every two years.

 

I agree. I like the idea of having new Star Wars movies constantly being made into the foreseeable future; but releasing 1 every year seems to be pushing it, even if they are using a different Crew to make the Spin-Offs. I hope this all works out.

 

VII: December 18, 2015
VIII: December 19, 2015
IX: December 20, 2015

Wait, sorry, I was lost in a daydream...

 

Do you know what? I really don’t think Lucasfilm and Disney have really, definitively decided yet what release schedule they’re going to commit to for the rest of the SW films. Obviously TFA and the first standalone are set in stone, but I don’t think anything else is (and that goes for Episode 8). They definitely would prefer summer, I think, but then what about all the Marvel films? Must be a tough thing to figure out.

My answer to the thread title is: I really don’t know.

 

In my dreams, the moments the credits roll for TFA...Then again after Episode VIII: Onset of the Republic...Or some other, much better title...

 

Episode VII: December 18, 2015
Episode VIII: December 18, 2115
Episode IX: December 18, 2215

 

I'll be alive.

 

Before Episode 7: Special Edition

 

Before John Williams passes.

 

i have got one message, and that is it.


TAKE YOUR TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

So I'm not the only one who is legitimately worried about this...

 

Avatar 2 is not a massive threat at this point. So far, all we have is talk. It hasn't even been cast, let alone have production begin. Avatar 2 may not make 2017, and based off how long Post took for the first film, if they don't start filming that's a likely scenario. Not to mention that while Avatar 1 was huge, by this point it will have been 8 years since the first film released. Will Audiences give a crap? Look at the significant difference domestically between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Trilogies. Worldwide is a non issue, since neither film will have a global launch at the same time.

Avatar may have been huge, but it's foolish to say that it's a guaranteed hit at this point. Theres been a significant amount of time in between films, and there has been no shortage of spectacle sic-fi/3D films, including the king, Star Wars. Avatar 2 will make money. How much though?

This is all assuming Episode 7 and 8 are good. If 7 and the spin-off sucks, we may as well write 8 off the map against avatar. At least Avatar 1 had a decent reputation. That's the biggest point of contention.

 

JediKnightWax, I too am very worried. All SW fans are. Not as much as John Williams is, but probably pretty close...

 

i'm sorry but i can't help but hear Peter Cushing's voice in this.