"Star Wars" fans are still on a high after the seventh movie in the franchise, "The Force Awakens," premiered last December.
The movie continues to do well in the box office as it has surpassed the $2 billion mark, making it the third film in history to do so. The film is still being screened in some cinemas all over the world and has earned more than $3 billion globally in merchandise.
Now, it has been reported that filming is underway for the eighth installment of the series.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Disney CEO Bob Iger gave updates on the studio's "Star Wars" franchise during the Walt Disney Co.'s quarterly earnings call.
"Filming of 'Star Wars: Episode VIII,' the next chapter of the legendary saga, has just commenced and it will be in theaters December 2017," said Iger. The CEO also revealed that production for "Episode IX," which will be released in 2019, has also begun.
"Episode VIII" will be directed by Rian Johnson, and "The Force Awakens" director J.J. Abrams will be staying on as a consultant and producer. "Episode IX" will be directed by Colin Trevorrow, with Johnson providing the story to ensure the continuity of the sequel trilogy's storyline.
It is believed that Iger meant that planning and conceptualizing of "Episode IX" as Trevorrow is currently in post-production of his upcoming film "The Book of Henry." According to Den of Geek, the director isn't due to start shooting the ninth "Star Wars" film for at least another year.
It was reported filming for "Episode VIII" was originally set to begin in January at Pinewood Studios, but production had a slight delay as Johnson is said to have done some rewrites for the script. The purpose of the rewrite is said to make Finn (John Boyega) and Rey's (Daisy Ridley) roles bigger, while taking the focus off some of the newer roles.
