Star Wars: The Last Jedi is slated to open in theaters Dec. 15 and is already a solid contender to be the highest grossing film of 2017. There is also a change for the release date of Episode IX.
Disney and Lucasfilm have pushed the release date of Star Wars: Episode IX from May 24, 2019 to Dec. 20, 2019. This comes just days after J.J. Abrams will replace Colin Trevorrow as the film's director. Abrams also directed 2015's The Force Awakens.
Disney had reportedly been looking to push production of the film from February to June and it seems that it was rather easy to do that once Abrams was announced as the new director of the film.
The Force Awakens was released on Dec. 18, 2015 and grossed over $930 million domestically and is the highest grossing domestic film ever.
Episode IX being released continues the trend of the Star Wars films being released in late December. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was released on Dec. 16, 2016.