When Star Wars returned to theaters with The Force Awakens, it seemed like we were settling into a familiar, comfortable pattern. Disney, Star Wars’s new owners, were going to release a new movie every year, alternating between a numbered Episode and standalone spin-offs like Rogue One. But, as Han Solo once advised, don’t get cocky. There’s conflicting information about whether or not this yearly tradition will continue after 2019.
Last month, Disney shared a list of release dates for the studio’s upcoming feature films through the year 2021. The list, which included highlights like the new Indiana Jones movie and Episode IX’s earlier release date, is missing on conspicuous thing: a Star Wars title in 2020. As Wired notes, this is curious, though perhaps less dire than it appears.
Although there was no mention of a Star Wars title in 2020 or 2021 on Disney’s latest official list of release dates, there has been talk of a third anthology film around that time. Disney CEO Bob Iger mentioned a film last year and Lucasfilm executive Kathleen Kennedy suggested that it might come out in the summer of 2020 at the Star Wars Celebration. As you might imagine, there are almost no additional details about this movie.
Chances are it was omitted from the list of release dates because the film is still in the earliest planning stages, but that same uncertainty could push the release date back. We’ve been very lucky to have annual Star Wars movies. For now, though, there is no official consensus from Lucasfilm that the trend will continue after Episode IX.
