Disney announced its future slate of films through 2027 late yesterday, and unsurprisingly, considering the amount of time we’re talking about, there’s a lot to digest. The big names are the obvious ones and include the next Indiana Jones movie (Who’s asking for this?), untitled Marvel films, the Avatar sequels (I’ll believe it when I see it.), and three untitled Star Wars films.
Disney’s chief Bob Iger promised Star Wars would take a short hiatus after this last trilogy concludes later this year. He’s alluded to Star Wars fatigue in other interviews, so I’m guessing that’s the story they’re going with for why they’re pausing before they move on to other Star Wars stories. I don’t buy this reason, because I see zero evidence for fatigue in the MCU, and at the rate they’re stamping those movies out, you would think you might see at least the hint that people are losing interest in those movies. But I don’t see it. If anything, the opposite is true as far as I can tell. Whatever.
Anyway, after The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars won’t return to the silver screen until December 16th, 2022 after which two more movies will follow in December 2024 and December 2026. There are no titles for these three films, and no indication who will write or direct them. Of course the internet is already speculating about whether these movies will be the planned Rian Johnson trilogy (Oof!) or the Benioff and Weiss trilogy (Yikes!) or some mix of the two. Or perhaps none of the above. The great thing about internet speculation is that it leaves no possibility unexplored – especially when it comes to Star Wars.
If you’re saddened by this news, I wouldn’t wallow in self pity. With Disney’s streaming service going live this fall, you should have enough Star Wars content in the form of TV series to keep you busy while Lucasfilm and Disney figure out what the fuck they’re doing with the movies. In the meantime, we’ll slurp up any tidbits of news Disney slings our way like well-trained dogs regardless of how bland (or possibly even vile) those tidbits are.
But what do you guys think? Are you pumped for more Star Wars movies? Glad Disney is taking a breather? Does this pause make you optimistic about the future of the franchise or does it deepen your pessimism (Let the hate flow through you!)? Discussion is what we’re all about, so sound off in the comments below.
