Disney chief executive Bob Iger has confirmed that another entry in the Star Wars series of stand-alone “anthology” movies is set for release in 2020.
In remarks made to the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference, and reported by Deadline, Iger said that a writer had been hired to work on the film. This would be the third in the series that will begin with the release of the Gareth Edwards-directed Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in December 2016, and followed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s as yet untitled Han Solo film, due for release in May 2018. No details have yet emerged of the 2020 project.
Iger also said he did not expect Rogue One to be as successful as Star Wars: The Force Awakens at the box office. (The latter is the highest ever grossing film in the US, and third in the worldwide list.) However, he did say “the level of interest [in Rogue One] is as high as it was for Force Awakens”, and after viewing a rough cut, that “we love what we’ve seen”.
The Star Wars franchise as a whole shows no signs of slowing down: with episodes eight and nine of the main series due for release in 2017 and 2019 respectively, Iger said he had recently met Luscasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy and “started talking about what we’re going to do in 2021 and beyond”.
Iger also said a similar meeting with Marvel Entertainment, which Disney acquired in 2009, had taken place, where “we too are beginning to talk about what do we do in the next decade”.
