First Star Wars Spin-Off Gets a Title, and Episode VIII Gets a Date

First Star Wars Spin-Off Gets a Title, and Episode VIII Gets a Date

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Director Gareth Edwards' stand-alone Star Wars movie, Rogue One will hit theaters Dec. 16, 2016. Jim Merithew/WIRED

Director Gareth Edwards' stand-alone Star Wars movie, Rogue One, will hit theaters Dec. 16, 2016. Jim Merithew/WIRED

Just when it was almost quiet on the Star Wars news front, Disney kicked up some dust with two big announcements about the future of its oldest cinematic universe: Star Wars: Episode VIII will hit theaters on May 26, 2017, and the title of the franchise’s first stand-alone film will be Rogue One.

Episode VIII is being directed by Looper writer/director Rian Johnson, who will also write the script for his Star Wars film. (For fans of Johnson’s work, like us, this is what they call Oh Hell Yes News.) His movie will pick up where J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens—hitting theaters in December—leaves off, Disney CEO Bob Iger told shareholders today in San Francisco. That release date, for the calendar-minded, is 40 years and a day after the release of Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope.

Rogue One is being directed by Godzilla director Gareth Edwards and will star Theory of Everything actress Felicity Jones. The movie is based on an idea from Industrial Light & Magic VFX maestro John Knoll, and although no details about the film’s plot were revealed, the announcement of Jones’ casting suggests the possibility of a female-fronted Star Wars film, which also lands squarely in Oh Hell Yes News territory. Rogue One beats Episode VIII into theaters by just about six months, opening on Dec. 16, 2016.

A lot of this news was already in the atmosphere in one form or another—rumors about Jones joining the franchise started popping up during awards season—but it’s always nice to get confirmation. Johnson is brilliant and has proven his deftness with everything from time-travel tropes to Breaking Bad, so the fact that he now has a license to drive Star Wars promises very good things. And the casting of Jones for the franchise’s first stand-alone film promises that the diversity Abrams brought to the casting of The Force Awakens could continue. Also, how great would it be if this means Jones is commanding Rogue Squadron?

There was no news in today’s announcement about the other spin-off film that Chronicle director Josh Trank is reportedly working on, but hey, it’s only Thursday.