By Julie Catherine and George Bate
Due to the unpredictable nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney has shifted release dates for a variety of their upcoming films. Although Star Wars wasn’t scheduled to come back to the big screen until 2022, fans are going to have to wait a little while longer. With the previous release dates set for December of 2022, 2024, and 2026 respectively, Disney have pushed these upcoming Star Wars projects back by one year. The new release dates are as follows:
December 22, 2023
December 19, 2025
December 17, 2027
While it may be disappointing to have to wait another year for the next Star Wars movie, this move has been expected for a while, as the global pandemic slows the productions of many films currently in development.
Now that the next film is in 2023, it’s also increasingly likely that this will be Taika Waititi’s Star Wars project. When asked about the status of the film in an interview with BBC earlier this week, Waititi confirmed that he and co-screenwriter Krysty Wilson-Cairns have begun working on the project. With Thor: Love and Thunder scheduled to release in February of 2022, the delay of the next Star Wars film would provide Waititi with ample time to complete both projects.
Until 2023, fans have plenty of Star Wars to look forward to on Disney+. The Mandalorian Season 2 will premiere this October, with the Cassian Andor prequel series gearing up to film this fall for a 2021 release, and the long awaited Obi-Wan show coming in 2022. Star Wars: The Bad Batch, the recently announced animated show following a group of unique clones, is also coming in 2021. While there may not be a Star Wars movie till 2023, there are still a wide variety of projects to come.
Images courtesy of Lucasfilm & Disney+
Source: BBC