Star Wars: Episode VIII delayed to December 2017

Star Wars: Episode VIII will premiere on Dec. 15, 2017, Disney announced today.

The film was originally set for a summer 2017 release.

Although fans will have to wait another six months for the sequel to The Force Awakens, Star Wars fans will get another movie sooner than that. Rogue One, the first Star Wars anthology movie, will premiere Dec. 16 of this year.

Not much is known about that movie, other than will take place between the events of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and IV: A New Hope. and it follows a group of Rebel Alliance fighters as they steal the plans for the first Death Star. The film is being directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla).

Episode VIII, which is being directed by Rian Johnson (Looper), will see the return of John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver and other cast members from The Force Awakens. The final installment in the sequel trilogy, which is being directed by Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World), is expected to be released sometime in 2019.

Star Wars: Episode VIII's new release date puts it up against Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One and James Cameron's Avatar sequel, which are both slated for release in December 2017.