Ragesh Dipu
Within two months after the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, the studio has announced important changes and additions to their release schedule. On Tuesday, Disney-Fox revealed three untitled ‘Star Wars‘ projects in the making, reports Deadline. The Disney slate of upcoming movies has also extended as far as 2027! The three live-action ‘Star Wars’ flicks are lined-up for 2022, 2024 and 2026 release.
The latest ‘Star Wars’ vehicle, ‘Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker‘ comes to theaters this December. Disney will release the next three ‘Star Wars’ installments on December 20, 2022, December 18, 2024, and December 18, 2026, respectively. According to the Wrap, names of ‘The Last Jedi‘ director Rian Johnson and ‘Game of Thrones‘ creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are associated with different ‘Star Wars’ trilogy projects. But Disney is yet to confirm the director’s name for the three untitled movies.
“We’re not just looking at what the next three movies might be, or talking about this in terms of a trilogy,” Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy told EW earlier. “We’re looking at: What is the next decade of storytelling?” she added. Kennedy also hinted, “Star Wars” films would be taking a hiatus for a couple of years.’ She said that both Johnson and Benioff and Weiss would be working “very closely together” for the upcoming trilogy. According to various reports, Benioff and Weiss will join ‘Star Wars’ films soon after they wrap up ‘Game of Thrones.’
The announcement came as part of a massive shakeup of Disney-Fox release slate yesterday. In one of the biggest move after the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company on March 20, 2019, Disney gives clear signs that the studio will lean heavily on the upcoming streaming platform Disney+ in its future programming strategy. The announcement hints that the future of Disney belongs to Disney+ and its impressive lineup of originals.
Creator Jon Favreau is working on the ‘Star Wars’ spinoff series ‘The Mandalorian‘ for Disney+. Disney’s second live-action ‘Star Wars’ original ‘Rogue One‘ prequel is set to premiere in 2021 on Disney+. The series is reportedly based on Diego Luna’s character from the original movie. According to an official statement, the prequel spinoff will be “a rousing spy thriller will explore tales filled with espionage and daring missions to restore hope to a galaxy in the grip of a ruthless Empire.” Stephen Schiff, known for the spy thriller ‘The Americans,’ serves as showrunner and executive producer for ‘Rogue One’ prequel.
Now with the addition of Fox slate, Disney’s roster is almost overcrowded with spin-offs, reboots and trilogies. Disney has also announced its decision to push back all four ‘Avatar‘ sequels by one year. ‘The New Mutants,’ the ‘X-Men’ spinoff starring Maisie Williams is also pushed back from Aug. 2, 2019 to April 3, 2020. Meanwhile, another ‘X-Men’ spin-off, Channing Tatum’s ‘Gambit’ is struck out from the slate. It was previously lined up for a March 13, 2020 release.
