Fans may be gearing up for a Star Wars showdown with the newest Lego film as Walt Disney Co. chairman and CEO Bob Iger made an official announcement that "Star Wars: Episode VIII" will be released on May 26, 2017. Such date has already been claimed by Warner Bros. for its newest Lego movie, which is rumored to be a Lego Batman spinoff.
"Episode VIII' will be released exactly four decades and one day after the original "Star Wars' by George Lucas made its debut. The upcoming "Star Wars' movie is known to be the follow-up film to "Star Wars: Episode VII- The Force Awakens', which has been set for a release on Dec. 18, 2015. "Episode VIII' will also re-launch the "Star Wars' franchise under the management of Disney, which is currently Lucasfilm's parent company.
Rian Johnson, who also worked on sci-fi action thriller film "Looper', will take on directorial and screenwriting duties for "Episode VIII.'
To launch the film during Memorial Day weekend in 2017 will significantly give Disney a boost as four of its highly-anticipated films will be released in summer of this year.
"Episode VIII' will hit theaters three weeks following the May 5 debut of Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy 2'. Disney Pixar's "Toy Story 4' has been set for an opening on June 16, to be followed by "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales' which has a July 7 release.
It remains a question among many whether Warner Bros. will be moving the release date of its upcoming Lego movie.
Meanwhile, there have been no other studios to put a film forward and rival the release of "Episode VII' this year. Disney's first spinoff standalone movie, "Star Wars: Rogue One', will be opening on Dec. 16, 2016 and will be "nearly alone' at such month with no major film releases announced yet.
Seth Grahame-Smith, known for his work on "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter' and "Dark Shadows', had written the script for the Lego sequel while Chris McKay has been set to direct. Will Arnett will reportedly lend his voice to play the character of the animated Caped Crusader.
Both "Star Wars: Episode VIII' and the new Lego film will debut one week after Paramount releases "Terminator 2.'
