Star Wars 4th trilogy release date: Plus has Disney DROPPED Rian Johnson films?

What comes next?

A lot rests on JJ Abrams and his climax to the entire Skywalker saga in Episode 9.

However, Disney and Lucasfilm are already looking beyond that as they absorb some of the recent dramas and set-backs, most notably the backlash ignited by the divisive Last Jedi and the shocking performance of Solo A Star Wars Story.

While embattled Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy has been confirmed for another three years, new statements by Disney boss Bob Iger and exclusive revelations in The Hollywood Reporter highlight the sudden lack of certainty over Rian Johnson’s much-touted new trilogy. In fact, it is an entirely different trilogy which will go into production first, with a likely release date already lined up. 

Johnson previosuly spoke about his plans for three new films which woudl be set in a separate galaxy from teh main franchise. It had been greenlit by Disney with no plot or characters in place, while anticipation and confidence was sky high for The Last Jedi.

Twelve months later and all the attention has shifted to the trilogy from Game of Thrones creators.

Iger told THR: “You can expect some slowdown… We are just at the point where we’re gonna start making decisions about what comes next after JJ’s (Star Wars Episode 9). But I think we’re gonna be a little bit more careful about volume and timing… We have creative entities, including [Game of Thrones creators David] Benioff and [D.B.] Weiss, who are developing sagas of their own, which we haven’t been specific about.”

The absence of any mention of Johnson’s trilogy was widely noted and then a new report made it clear that it was no longer a certainty.

The new report in THR said: “Lucasfilm is developing feature projects from Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and DB Weiss, as well as a potential trilogy from Rian Johnson, the filmmaker behind Last Jedi. Johnson, however, is currently prepping to shoot a detective thriller that is to star Daniel Craig.”

Not only is his trilogy now only categorised as “potential”, his other commitments were stressed.

Meanwhile more reports emerging from Hollywood said: “They will begin filming the new trilogy at the very end of 2020 which tells us they will start script and preproduction in 2019.

After the stumble with Solo A Star Wars Story was probably compounded by the early summer release date, it looks certain that Lucasfilm and Disney will stick with the established and hugely successful Christmas release date.

All the signs point to a December 2021 date.

Disney itself will also be concentrating from 2019 on its upcoming digital platform. The live action Star Wars series from John Favreau will be one of the big selling points for the new rival to Netflix, Amazon and the like.

This is likely to be the first major Star Wars release following Episode 9.

Disney has also teased the prospect of adventures for Avengers characters like Loki and Scarlet Witch being explored in a mini-series format rather than on the big screen.