Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that the Star Wars movie after Star Wars: Episode 9 already has a writer. The 2020 Star Wars movie will continue the recurring release pattern that alternates between Star Wars “Episode” entires and the more freewheeling Star Wars Story anthology series premiering with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story this December.
While it’s no surprise the Disney roadmap for Star Wars continues well past the Sequel Trilogy currently in the works, the attachment of a writer to the project suggests the 2020 Star Wars film is already deep in the pre-production process. While Iger made no indication as to the subject matter of the Episode 9 follow-up, it’s long been rumored to be centered around a known Star Wars character, with Obi-Wan Kenobi the most frequently named. Other possible candidates include Boba Fett and Yoda.
$DIS working on new Star Wars movie for 2020 release, Iger jokes, "I'm starting to lose track." #communacopia
— Claire Atkinson ??????? (@claireatki) September 21, 2016
For those who’ve lost count of all these rumored Star Wars movies, here’s the release date calendar for the next few years:
- Dec. 15, 2016 - Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- Dec. 14, 2017 - Star Wars: Episode VIII
- May 24, 2018 - Untitled Han Solo Star Wars Story
- May 23, 2019 - Star Wars: Episode IX
- 2020 - Unknown Star Wars Story
The announcement of a follow-up to Star Wars: Episode 9 in the A Star Wars Story sub-series was to be expected. What will be a real revelation is whether or not 2021 will see a Star Wars: Episode X or if Disney will abandon the “Episode” framework after the conclusion of this new Star Wars Sequel Trilogy.
