It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Is Christmastime the new May now? Star Wars Episode VIII opens in theaters December 15, 2017 per an announcement just made by Disney at StarWars.com which is very different from the approximated Summer 2017 date already discussed/assumed! Click through for the full announcement! Please no more three-month advance Force Fridays again. Please no more three-month advance Force Fridays!

Star Wars: Episode VIII to Open December 15, 2017

The release date for the next film in the saga is confirmed.

Today, Disney and Lucasfilm announced that Star Wars: Episode VIII, originally scheduled for release in summer 2017, will now debut on December 15, 2017.

The move follows the extraordinary success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which was the first Star Wars movie to premiere outside the traditional summer blockbuster window and 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 the highest grossing domestic release of all time with over $861.3 million and the third biggest global release ever with $1,886.7 billion.

Written and directed by Rian Johnson, Star Wars: Episode VIII is currently in preproduction and will begin principal photography in London next month. Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman will produce and J.J. Abrams, Jason McGatlin, and Tom Karnowski will executive produce. Stay tuned for exciting updates in the coming weeks.