Star Wars: Episode VIII delayed by six months

The Force is … well what is The Force, exactly? At a guess, perhaps it has slowed down time in Hollywood given Disney has announced a delay to the release of Star Wars: Episode VIII. The as-yet-un-subtitled next instalment of what Disney calls “The Saga” is apparently “currently in preproduction and will begin principal …

[Anonymous Coward]

Yawn

Just another corp trying to maximise their $$$. Nothing to see here folks.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Yawn

It always had to be Christmas because Star Wars is a merchandising driven franchise.

The last episode started with the spherical R2D2, and they wrote any old bollocks plot around that. Expect a similar format this year, where the toy advert trailer will be "leaked" during the dog days of summer.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Yawn

Wrote any old bollocks plot? What I sat through was a 2 hour warmed-over rehash of the original film's plot, probably justified as an homage of some sort, with slightly better special effects and worse physics. Presumably if Episode VIII is delayed you could just watch The Empire Strikes Back again instead.

[James 51]

Re: Yawn

More kindly it's a greatest hits collection of the previous movies but the next one is going to need original material.

[Gordon 10]

Re: Yawn

And if it has one more planet destroying super weapon in it I am going to be narked off can we have another type of existential threat please. Its not as if there aren't many others. How about a super virus that causes the sufferer to explode in a shower of blue gunk (to get the PG Cert)

Still Rian Johnson has some good credentials - lets hope he can keep JJ 'pastiche boy' Abrams in check.

[James 51]

Re: Yawn

Knights of the Old Republic managed to combine the two. You needed to read the book to understand it all though (finally accepted there wasn't going to be a third game once I read it as it was obviously written to finish the story).

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Yawn

No kidding. Worst line: "how do we blow it up? There's always a way to do that".

Way to piss on the graves of all the Bothans that died trying to find a weakness in the field generator.

[Grikath]

Re: Yawn

Well actually this one was a rehash of just about all 6 movies in a more or less montage-style setup.

Which leaves them the problem that they now need to move forward with the Story , and have to be *shudder* creative.

And you have to admit... If there ever was a movie that manages to crowd Tropes and Themes together in one single movie, it's been this one.. Haven't been able to spot the Mary Sue, but you got to leave something for the Fanfic crowd.. For the rest all the major ones, and quite a few minor ones, are all in there. Repeatedly.

AH well.. we'll see.. eventually. They'll engage Hype-r-drive come summer 2017, after all.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Yawn

considering the show is STILL in theaters, of course they're gonna hold off release. No need to step on the cash cow that's still spewing milk

[allthecoolshortnamesweretaken]

I call tactical timing. An x-mas release should mean more $$$. Same goes for building up tension and suspense. Factor in the free worldwide media coverage at no extra cost - win-win-win-scenario.

Re "What happens after a Wookie shaves there?" - massive chafing. Source: you really don't want to know, just trust me on this one, okay?

[BebopWeBop]

And who said that long term planning was dead in Western Economies?

[Adam 1]

> turning summer 2017 into late December

ɹǝpunuʍop ɯoɹɟ ᴉɥ/

¡ǝɯᴉʇ ɹǝɯɯns sᴉ ʇɐɥʇ ʇnq

[Haku]

Mate I think your keyboard is broke, everything's coming out all umop apisdn.

[Adam 1]

˙punoɹɐ ʎɐʍ ʇɥƃᴉɹ ǝɥʇ ʎɐldsᴉp oʇ ʇxǝʇ pǝʇonb puɐ ǝlpuɐɥ ʎɯ ʇǝƃ oʇ ʍoɥ ʍouʞ ʇ,uop I ˙uɐǝɯ noʎ ʇɐɥʍ ǝǝs uɐɔ I

[LosD]

"Star Wars: Episode VII delayed by six months"

That is not the episode you are waiting for.

[chivo243]

3M

Marketing making money

It really makes sense, the guy or gal who said May is a good month is now eating ramen noodles...

[msknight]

This isn't the comment you're looking for.

Move along.

[James 51]

Heard it was to prevent a clash with pirates of the cashin.

[Anonymous Coward]

Pirates of the Commercialized: Dead Men Buy No Merch

[Blofeld's Cat]

Well since you ask ...

"The Force is … well what is The Force, exactly?"

Duck* Tape - It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the Universe together.

* Other spellings and fauna are available.

[Christoph]

Re: Well since you ask ...

"The Force is … well what is The Force, exactly?"

The Force is the Force, of course, of course.

[Dan 55]

Re: Well since you ask ...

Midichlorians?

[Gordon 10]

Re: Well since you ask ...

DAN! report to the naughty corner!

[Anonymous Coward]

Hmmmm....

Smelled the money the mouse did!

[wyatt]

Rehash? Yes.. but I still enjoyed it! I'd like a disc copy so I can watch it again and recap.

I wonder how long before the box sets are ready (yes I know, you need all 3 final movies to be released first..)?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why not download a blu-ray rip. They've already made plenty of money, and you've even paid once.

[Dave 126]

It hasn't been released on Blu-Ray or DVD yet. There are no pirated copies of any screener DVDs (destined for critics and award judges) because SWTFA is not chasing any awards, and Disney know that any screener DVD would be quickly ripped and put online (as has happened with many recent films, such as the Hateful Eight and Room).

There is a case for downloading Star Wars films - if you already own E IV or V, then it isn't wrong to download the De-specialised Editions, because Lucas never released the original films in HD format without any added CGI rubbish. Instead, some fans camaigned for such a release took the project into their own hands.

[BinkyTheMagicPaperclip]

Excellent

Hadn't been keeping up with this, and didn't realise the next episode will be standalone - but I'm very pleased at the prospect.

VII was a decent Star Wars film, and not a bad film in its own right, but the next film continuing the storyline nears to match episode V in quality, and that's going to be difficult. A gap of two years to achieve this is ideal, even if the timing most probably is cynical.

A standalone storyline, if done well, offers lots of opportunity for expanding the film canon. The Star Wars universe is diverse and well written in parts, the films less so.

Imagine if the making of some of the wider universe non canon was merely a ruse, and they're placing Kyle Katarn/elements of the better Star Wars computer games back in the films..

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow

"US$1.886.7 billion" it made so much that it needed 2 decimal points to make it readable.

[Matthew 17]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOÕ!!!

etc.

[VinceH]

I'm confused. Is anyone else confused?

The article talks about how Star Wars: Episode VIII - an as yet untitled instalment - is delayed from summer 2017 until December 2017.

Then it says: "Episode VIII, a standalone flick set in the Lucasverse, Rogue One, remains on track for release on December 16th, 2016."

So, putting those two things together, the 8th instalment, which is currently untitled and is to be delayed until December 2017, will come out a year earlier than that and be called Rogue One.

Or is the "Episode VIII" in that sentence a rogue one? :p

[Anonymous Coward]

RE: Confused

Yes, I'm confused

[Hans Neeson-Bumpsadese]

Re: RE: Confused

I'm confused

And so is my wife

[Efros]

Yup somewhat dazed too.

[Dave 126]

>Or is the "Episode VIII" in that sentence a rogue one?

It's a rogue one. Rogue One will tell the story of how the Death Star plans that were the McGuffin from Episode IV came to be stolen from the Empire. Whilst Episode VII can be criticised for following E IV's aesthetic too slavishly, Rogue One can be a full homage without complaint.

It will be directed by Gareth Edwards, who made his name by making Monsters, a relationship drama set against the backdrop of an alien monster-infested quarantine zone in Central America. The monsters were rendered on his laptop, and many of the cast were just people he met in-situ.

Edwards was then given a massive budget to make Godzilla, which received "generally favourable reviews". Edwards' direction was praised.

[Aristotles slow and dimwitted horse]

Don't care. Episode VII was crap. But...

I do quite like Rian Johnsons work. The quality of Episode VIII won't be judged around the director however, it'll be judged by the story and script, which if later Star Wars films are anything to go by - appear to be overly underwhelming. If it has dialogue similar to Johnsons movie "Brick" however, it could be fun...

Generic Empire baddie: You've helped the Empire out before.

Generic character: No, I gave you Skywalker to see him eaten, not to see you fed.

Generic Empire baddie: Fine. And very well put.

Generic character: Accelerated English, Mr. Yoda.

Generic Empire baddie: Tough teacher?

Generic character: Tough but fair.

[Anonymous Coward]

Whatever happened to John McTiernan?

Die Hard, Predator, The Hunt For Red October......would've thought he would have been more than capable of directing one of these films?

[Dave 126]

Re: Whatever happened to John McTiernan?

He's fighting bankruptcy after spending ten months in prison for wire-tapping.

However, the cinematographer from Predator (and Patriot Games, Die Hard with a Vengeance) Don McAlpine is still working.

EDIT: MP3 of McAlpine being interviewed by Philip Adams. Theyhave history, since they were cinematographer and producer respectively of The Adventures of Barry McKenzie.

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/don-mcalpine2c-cinematographer/4514790

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Whatever happened to John McTiernan?

Thanks for the info Dave 126, quite shocked to hear about his incarceration! I wouldn't have sent him down for ten months for wire-tapping but for Rollerball instead!

McTiernan and McAfee what a combo that would make!

[nuclearstar]

They have done this so Disney can bully all cinema chains to only show their movie for 3 weeks again over xmas.

[Dave 126]

Or so that toys and other Ep VIII merchandise can be sold in the run to Christmas!

[Intractable Potsherd]

@Dave 126

And so that toys and other Ep VIII merchandise can be sold in the run to Christmas!

FTFY :-)

[Anonymous Coward]

JJ Abrams's extended saga-plotting expertise

Uh... what? The plot was terrible (non-existent) in the last film. Eventually his impact on the series may be viewed as worse than the prequels.

[Anonymous Coward]

Bingo! Bullseyed, you hit it right in the bullseye.

[Anonymous Coward]

Storyline

Plot was probably too well written and needed the extra time to hack the hell out of it with nonsense, so that it fell in line with eVII (thought I'd accidently typed evil for a moment).

[Richard 12]

Budget increase and toys is my bet

After seeing how much Ep 7 made, the mouse reckons they can spend more on the next one.

Not to mention the tie-in toys.

[Joe User]

Next installment delayed by 6 months

The Force is slow with this one....

[Trigonoceps occipitalis]

That is not the Vote I am Looking for

Bring back Jar Jar Binks!

[Neoc]

I just want JJ Abrams to finally learn what distances in outer space are like and stop showing planets in different systems as if they were moons of each other.

[Snipp]

Commentard: "Star Wars was a total remake of EP IV."

Me: "No shit, Nancy. That's the exact reason why most fans loved it."