The Star Wars cinematic galaxy is growing with ‘Rogue One’ and ‘Star Wars Ep. VIII’

In addition to the icy announcements today at Disney’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders in San Francisco, CEO Bob Iger announced two big pieces of Star Wars news that is exciting fans of the Lucasfilm franchise.

After much rumor, the first Star Wars standalone film was announced. “Rogue One” is the first in a series of spinoff films that will explore the characters and worlds beyond the core saga. The film will star Felicity Jones (“The Theory of Everything”) and directed by Gareth Edwards (“Godzilla”). Filming will take place this summer and will be released on December 16, 2016.

Iger also announced that Star Wars: Episode VIII will be released on May 26, 2017. It will continue the story of what occurs in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It will be written and directed by Rian Johnson (“Looper”).

The news comes with the strategy of Disney to make their $4 billion investment when they purchased Lucasfilm back in 2012. With the announcement of the films and an aggressive increased presence of the franchise in Disney Parks worldwide, Iger’s announcement has made clear that we can look forward to having all things that the galaxy far, far away be brought near very soon.

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Are you excited for the new films? Although we still haven’t gotten news on the story of The Force Awakens? Share your thoughts in the comments.