Disney Planning New Star Wars Films Every Summer Starting In 2015

When Disney acquired Lucasfilm back in October and announced Star Wars Episode VII, we knew right away that the long-time franchise was about to be heavily kickstarted, and we were certainly right. Today, Disney announced at CinemaCon that a new Star Wars movie will be released every summer starting in 2015 with Episode VII.

We've known for some time that there are going to be multiple Star Wars film in the future, including standalone films, but today's news is certainly a new development. We've even been teased with Star Wars Episode VIII, which isn't announced yet, but there will surely be a move to come after Episode VII.

The Disney films of the movies and the standalone films are said to alternative summers, meaning that Episode VIII would come out in 2017, with Episode IX releasing in 2019. The years in between would be the standalone films that will focus on individual characters in the Star Wars universe, such as Yoda, Han Solo, and Boba Fett.

Star Trek director JJ Abrams is on board to direct Star Wars Episode VII, with the script being written by Michael Arndt, who penned movies like Little Miss Sunshine, Toy Story 3, and Brave. He also wrote the screenplay for The Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire. Several actors from the original Star Wars trilogy are also reported to be returning for this latest movie.

[via Coming Soon]