Disney just announced the dates for the next trilogy of Star Wars movies: December 2022, 2024 and 2026.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/disney...-new-star-wars-films-and-four-avatar-sequels/
No word yet on if these are the films from Rian Johnson or if these are the movies from the
Game of Thrones show runners. On the one hand, Johnson was specifically working on a trilogy, while the
GoT writers were working on a series of movies. So the fact that three movies were announced suggests that it's Johnson. On the other hand, Disney still seems to be dealing with post-
Last Jedi fallout, while seemingly everyone still loves
GoT. I feel like Disney will wait a few more years before giving Johnson a go again.
(I'm not saying that all the online abuse of Johnson is fair; I'm saying that, as a corporation, Disney will want to hedge its bets and wait till the backlash dies down. Maybe in a few years, no one will care anymore, either because
Rise of Skywalker makes everyone happy again, or because it makes fans so mad that they actually look at Johnson more respectfully in comparison.)
No names yet, of course (we didn't even get a name for Ep. IX until last month!), nor is there any idea of the plot, the time/setting, etc.
I have mixed feelings about the announcement. While I'm glad there will be more
Star Wars films, I feel like it steals the thunder of
Rise of Skywalker a bit to turn everyone's attention to the next trilogy. At Celebration just last month, Disney said they realized they had over-saturated the market, and they were slowing down on
Star Wars a little. Between the multiple animated series in production and live-action series in development, and now these, it doesn't feel very much like slowing down. I'm glad it's not a new one every year, but this still seems like a lot.
It must sound weird that a huge
Star Wars fan like me wants less of it, so let me reframe my comments. I really loved
Solo. If the market hadn't been so glutted, I think it would have stood more of a chance. I want each
Star Wars movie to have its best shot at attracting an audience rather than people saying, "Oh, new
Star Wars? Is it Tuesday already?"
Anyway, I'll keep an open mind, and continue to watch the development of these movies with interest.