It is not surprising that "Star Wars: Episode 8 - The Force Awakens" is already in development following the success of the latest sequel. There are already some announcements concerning the possible blockbuster.
The first and most significant announcement concerns the movie's release date. The upcoming film in the "Star Wars" trilogy is scheduled for a May 26, 2017 release in the United States. However, there is no information on the international release date of the movie.
Since the film has no working title at the moment, it can only be referred to as "Star Wars: Episode VIII."
It is reported that "The Force Awakens" director J.J. Abrahams will not helm the upcoming installment. The director pointed out that he had terrible experiences when working on the latest film, most significantly when he had to film the unfinished version to the high-level Disney executives.
Writer and director of the famous "Brick" and "Looper" movies, Rian Johnson, will instead direct the latest installment in the franchise. According to Screen Rant, Johnson has already finished a screenplay for the much-anticipated film, which is J.J. Abraham's favorite. Johnson will also script the screenplay for "Episode IX", which will be directed by Colin Trevorrow.
"The Force Awakens" cast will come back for the next part of the sci-fi franchise, according to a report from The Evening Standard.
The report stated, "The president of Lucasfilm has said that iconic cast members will appear in Episode VIII, as will newcomers John Boyega and Daisy Ridley."
On the other hand, producer Kathleen Kennedy dished on the likely new faces saying, "There will be a handful of new cast members in Episode VIII but also all the cast members you see here tonight will be in it as well."
Kennedy added that "Episode 8" will commence filming in January 2016. While there has not been much talk about the plot, it is speculated that it will follow the continued war of the republic-inclined Rebel Alliance against the First Order and their new plight against the Mandalorian army.
Watch the clip below for more information: