Star Wars: Episode VIII Release Date Pushed Back; May be Getting Rewrite
Star Wars: Episode VIII‘s release date has been pushed back to December 15 2017. Disney announced the news after rumors spread that director Rian Johnson is reportedly rewriting his script for the upcoming next chapter in the saga.
The rumor originated from the Meet The Movie Press video podcast. Filming has apparently been “pushed back about a month” due to Johnson adjusting his script to adhere to the strengths and achievements of The Force Awakens. If the rumor has any truth, fan-favorite characters Rey, Finn and master pilot, Poe will be given extra attention and further developed in Episode VIII, while newly introduced characters will have smaller roles.
Tatiana Maslany, Bel Powely, Gina Rodriguez and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Concussion) are also rumored to have unknown roles in the new film.
“They want to get to know better the characters they already have. So the new rewrite is shrinking the new roles in order to spend more time with Rey, Poe and so on,” says The Wrap’s Jeff Sneider, who appeared on the podcast.
Disney reports that Episode VIII is currently in pre-production and is set to begin principal photography next month in London.