A disturbance in the force: Disney delays release of next ‘Star Wars’ episode

The release of Star Wars: Episode VIII has been delayed from May 2017 to December 15, 2017, the Walt Disney Company announced.

The date change announced on Wednesday means that fans of the box-office hit “The Force Awakens” will be left hanging for an extra seven months to find out what happens to Rey, Finn and the rest of the movie’s characters.

Though Star Wars was once synonymous with the summer blockbuster, the date change also means that the franchise will again look to dominate movie theatres in the holiday season. It has proven a lucrative match for The Force Awakens, which has made a record US$861 million in North America and US$1.88 billion globally in five weeks of release.

Disney offered no reason for the delay, but rumours have recently swirled that writer-director Rian Johnson, who is taking over for J.J. Abrams, is rewriting the script. Production is set to begin next month in London.

In the interim, Gareth Edwards’ Star Wars spin-off Rogue One is due out on December 16 this year.

With prominent release dates now staked out by studios years in advance for their largest franchises, the impact of the switch immediately caused ripples.