A long time ago, in a completely different galaxy far, far away… Disney announced Thursday that it plans to release a brand-new Star Wars trilogy once the…
A long time ago, in a completely different galaxy far, far away…
Disney announced Thursday that it plans to release a brand-new Star Wars trilogy once the current saga wraps up — which will have different characters, but still keep the signature crawl.
While there is no release date set, the movies will likely come out sometime after 2020, seeing how Episode IX is expected to hit theaters on December 20,2019.
They will be helmed by Rian Johnson, director of Episode VIII, “The Last Jedi.”
“Lucasfilm is excited to announce that Johnson will create a brand-new Star Wars trilogy, the first of which he is also set to write and direct, with longtime collaborator Ram Bergman onboard to produce,” Disney wrote in a statement.
“As writer-director of The Last Jedi, Johnson conceived and realized a powerful film of which Lucasfilm and Disney are immensely proud,” it said. “In shepherding this new trilogy, which is separate from the episodic Skywalker saga, Johnson will introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored.”
In addition to the trilogy, Lucasfilm is planning on rolling out a live-action “Star Wars” TV series — which is being developed for Disney’s new, yet-to-be-released streaming service.
Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed the plans during an earnings call Thursday, saying Star Wars would be one of several big-name properties to be featured on the platform — along with Monsters Inc., High School Musical, and Marvel.
The service will be run by a video-streaming company called BAMTech, which was founded by Major League Baseball. Disney purchased the digital media division over the summer for $1.58 billion.
The media giant is currently locked up in a deal with Netflix for its films and TV series, which was inked in 2012. But it has since decided to end its agreement.
Johnson worked on the film with Bergman, a longtime collaborator of his, as well as “Rogue One” producer Kathleen Kennedy.
“We had the time of our lives collaborating with Lucasfilm and Disney on The Last Jedi,” Johnson and Bergman said in a joint statement. “Star Wars is the greatest modern mythology and we feel very lucky to have contributed to it. We can’t wait to continue with this new series of films.”
Kennedy added, “We all loved working with Rian on The Last Jedi… He’s a creative force, and watching him craft The Last Jedi from start to finish was one of the great joys of my career. Rian will do amazing things with the blank canvas of this new trilogy.”
With Post wires
