Disney Release Date Shuffle Confirms ‘Star Wars’ Won’t Return To Theaters Until 2025

It will be six years since the last film!

Darth Vader Obi-Wan Kenobi Star Wars

Disney’s release date shuffles for their upcoming films confirm that no new Star Wars film will be released in theaters until 2025.

Back in December 2019, Disney and Lucasfilm released the final chapter of the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy. The Rise of Skywalker hit theaters and received very mixed reviews from both critics and audiences alike, with many looking back at the entire Sequel Trilogy with extremely critical eyes, leaving the state of the franchise on the big screen in a less-than-stable place. Meanwhile, the first original Disney Plus series The Mandalorian, which released around the same time as Episode IX had received a significantly more positive reception, with many expressing the sentiment that the future of the franchise will be through long-form storytelling on streaming.

During Disney Investors Day back in 2020, it was announced that the first Star Wars film to be released in theaters following The Rise of Skywalker as to be Rogue Squadron, which had Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins attached to direct and was said to be released in December 2023. However, the film was eventually shelved indefinitely due to “creative differences” and has since been pulled from Disney’s upcoming release schedule.

As of right now, the next Star Wars film is said not to be released until December 19, 2025. Given that this unknown film is unlikely to be Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron, some speculate that this will be when audiences should expect Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi’s film to be released. At this time, the title of this film, as well as a second film slated for December 17, 2027 are when we should next expect to return to the galaxy far, far away on the big screen again for new stories.

Why Star Wars films must take their time.

It’s no secret that the Star Wars fandom has been significantly polarized over the last few years. While both The Force Awakens and Rogue One both received positive reviews (the latter of which is often considered the best of the Disney era), The Last Jedi has since become not just the most perhaps the most divisive entry in the franchise’s history, but one of the most polarizing films of the last decade. And when you factor in the disappointing performance of Solo as well as the collective shrug of The Rise of Skywalker from critics and audiences, it’s no surprise that Kathleen Kennedy and the team at Lucasfilm are somewhat weary over what the next big screen outing will be.

By the time the next Star Wars film will supposedly be released, it will have been six years since The Rise of Skywalker, and perhaps more perplexingly, will have been a complete decade since The Force Awakens hit theaters and eventually became the highest-grossing film in U.S. history (which it still remains at the top spot to this day). When it comes to new films, proper planning and fresh new stories and characters are likely the way to go, and hopefully audience’s return to the galaxy far, far away on the big screen will be exciting again.

After all, former Disney CEO Bob Iger expressed back in 2020 that slowing down the release of Star Wars films was a priority for Lucasfilm, claiming that “less is more” for that franchise on the big screen, especially when compared to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s output of movies, which has the luxury of distinct comic book characters that can be involved within different genres of stories.

The new Star Wars original series, Andor will premiere Disney Plus on September 21, 2022, with three episodes. Stay tuned for all the latest news on the franchise, and subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more great video content!

Noah Villaverde

Noah Villaverde

Cinema lover. Saxophone player. Coffee consumer. Chronic complainer. Oh, I also write. #TeamHeroic