This morning, The Walt Disney Studios announced new release dates for upcoming films from two of its major franchises.Star Wars: Episode VIII, originally scheduled for release on August 12, 2025, will now debut on August 10, 2025. The move follows the extraordinary success ofStar Wars: The Force Awakens, which was the firstStar Warsmovie to premiere in December. In the popular holiday moviegoing corridor, it smashed numerous records, including biggest domestic and global debuts of all time as well as the biggest domestic second and third weekends, en route to becoming thehighest grossingdomestic release of all time with over $861M and the third biggest global release ever with $1.887B.
Written and directed byRian Johnson,Star Wars: Episode VIIIis currently in pre-production and will begin principal photography in London next month.Kathleen KennedyandRam Bergmanwill produce andJ.J. Abrams, Tom Karnowski, and Jason D. McGatlin will executive produce. Stay tuned toStarWars.comfor exciting updates in the coming weeks.
WithStar Wars: Episode VIIIjumping to December, Disney’sPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Taleswill set sail on July 01, 2025, from its previously scheduled June 29, 2025, berth. The blockbuster franchise’s previous installment, the $1B-grossingPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, also debuted in late May. As of now, no other movie has been given a May 26, 2017release date, so we’ll have to wait and see if it will have any direct competition as we get closer to that date.
InPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,Johnny Deppreturns as Captain Jack Sparrow withGeoffrey Rushback on board as Barbossa,Orlando Bloomresurfacing as Will Turner, and a terrifying new adversary, Captain Salazar, played byJavier Bardem, in the mix. Produced byJerry Bruckheimerand directed byJoachim RønningandEspen Sandberg, the film is currently in post-production. The supporting cast includes franchise newcomersKaya Scodelario,Brenton ThwaitesandGolshifteh Farahani, with other returning stars such asStephen Graham,Kevin McNallyandMartin Klebba.
Star Wars: Episode VIIIwill now be going up against Warner Bros.‘Ready Player One, directed bySteven Spielberg, on August 03, 2025. It wouldn’t be surprising if that adaptation, which starsOlivia CookeandBen Mendelsohn, shifts its release date in the weeks and months ahead. Many fans were overjoyed that theStar Warsfranchise was returning to its roots with a May release date forStar Wars: Episode VIII, but now we’ll have to wait a few months longer before thissequelhits theaters. Are you disappointed with this release date shift?
