Star Wars: Episode VIII gets release date; ‘Rogue One’ spinoff announced

Star Wars: Episode VIII, the eight installment in the core Star Wars movie franchise, was given a May 26, 2017 release date today.

Written and directed by Rian Johnson (Director of Looper), it will be the sequel to Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, the newest in the core series of movies that jump starts a new trilogy set after the Return of the Jedi.

But wait there's more. If you recall, Disney also has planned a series of spinoff movies that tell new stories expanding the Star Wars universe. Today, Disney revealed the name of one of them at its annual shareholders meeting in San Francisco.

The first Star Wars spinoff movie will be called Rogue One. Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla) is on board to direct, with Chris Weitz (Cinderella) writing the script.

Felicity Jones, from The Theory of Everything, is already cast in the film, but it's not revealed who she will be playing. All we know about the film is that it's based on an idea from John Knoll, an Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor and chief creative officer at Industrial Light & Magic. There are rumors, however, that the film will be about a team of bounty hunters who are trying to steal the Death Star plans for the Rebel Alliance.

Filming for Rogue One is scheduled to start shooting this summer in London. It's due for release on December 16, 2016.

So just to recap: Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens hits theaters this year on December 18, 2015. Next year, the spinoff Rogue One will release on December 16, 2016. Following that will be Star Wars: Episode VIII on May 26, 2017. Beyond that, who knows.

Basically, get ready for lots and lots of Star Wars.

[Star Wars]