The premiere for 'Star Wars: Episode VIII' has been pushed back to December 2017, seven months after its original slot in May. Director Rian Johnson is said to be rewriting the script to put more emphasis on the newer characters introduced in J.J. Abrams' 'Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens'.
According to Cinema Blend, the eighth installment's scheduled release date has been pushed back to December 15, 2017. The film was originally slated for a May 26, 2017 release. It was speculated that one of the reasons for the delay could be because Disney wants to emulate the success of 'Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens', which was released in the month of December.
Another rumor pointed to the fact that the studio wanted to detract from the chances of competing with their own scheduled superhero film releases. Disney owns Marvel and competing with itself would not be a very wise business strategy.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales' will take the film's original May 2017 slot. It will feature the return of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney's pirate adventure cinematic franchise. Other Disney releases for the mid-year include 'Cars 3' and 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'.
Rian Johnson is taking over J.J. Abrams' as the sequel's new director and writer. According to Digital Spy, insiders revealed that Johnson is currently working through rewrites for the screenplay that allows the new characters introduced in the preceding film to have ample screen time.
Boris Kit of THR tweeted, "I've heard from several sources the rewrites are positive, based on audience reaction to the new characters. People loved them."
'Star Wars: Episode VIII' is an upcoming action-adventure and fantasy film written and directed by Rian Johnson. It is intended as the sequel to J.J. Abrams' highly successful 'Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens'. It is scheduled to be released on December 15, 2017.
