‘Star Wars: Episode 8’ Is Just The Beginning: Lucasfilm Knows Future History Of The Galaxy Years Past ‘Episode 9’ Release Date

Lucasfilm Story Group, the internal corporate masters of Disney’s Star Wars continuity, have mapped out the future of the Star Wars galaxy far past Star Wars: Episode IX, the final saga episode announced so far.

2016’s Star Wars movie, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, is set in the past, between Revenge of the Sith and the original Star Wars, with a team of Rebels stealing the plans to the first Death Star. To watch the future of the Star Wars galaxy beyond Star Wars: The Force Awakens you’ll have to wait for the Dec. 15, 2017 release date of Star Wars: Episode 8.

One question that will have to wait for next December is exactly how much we can expect Episode 8 to differ from Star Wars: Episode 7 The Force Awakens. Disney has been walking a tightrope in speaking about Star Wars: Episode 8, trying to emphasize both that it would narratively and stylistically follow from Episode 7 while also showcasing of director Rian Johnson’s (Brick, Looper) unique vision for the Star Wars universe.

At the Sundance Film Festival Slashfilm’s Peter Sciretta got some insight into the future of Star Wars and exactly how much has been planned ahead. While demoing a new Star Wars: The Force Awakens augmented reality “Holo Cinema” installation, Diana Williams of the Lucasfilm Story Group talked about the long-term future of the series.

According to Sciretta, “Williams explained that the Lucasfilm Story Group has mapped out the next half dozen years of Star Wars stories and beyond.”

The release date for Star Wars: Episode IX will be in 2019, probably December. We recently learned (and have long suspected) it won’t be the last, when Disney CEO Bob Iger told Newsbeat , “There are five Star Wars films – four more with Episode 7: The Force Awakens – that are in varying stages of development and production. There will be more after that, I don’t know how many, I don’t know how often.”

But with Star Wars: Episode IX still three years away, who could have guessed that Lucasfilm has already mapped out the Star Wars future through 2021?