As Star Wars fans celebrate the 40th anniversary of the galaxy far, far away and reflect on the property's legacy, they're also looking towards the future with much excitement - including what movies will come out in the next decade. Disney's surprise acquisition of Lucasfilm back in 2012 meant the Mouse House would launch a new era of Star Wars films, and that initiative finally began in 2015 with the premiere of The Force Awakens. Looking to replicate the model popularized by Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm is currently in the midst of a slate featuring annual releases, alternating between the three episodes of the Skywalker saga sequel trilogy and standalone spinoffs like Rogue One and Han Solo.
It's long been presumed, but never officially confirmed, that a third installment of the so-called Star Wars anthology series would make its way to theaters in 2020. Unsurprisingly, there have been a number of rumors concerning this mystery film; one day, speculation will point to an Obi-Wan Kenobi solo film, while others see reports of a bounty hunter movie starring Boba Fett. Right now, there's no telling what it will be considering Lucasfilm's plans for their prized possession post-Episode IX remain up in the air. It seems like a given there will be another spinoff at some point, but when it becomes public knowledge is unknown.
From the sound of things, Lucasfilm doesn't appear to be in any rush to announce the 2020 anthology, and that definitely makes sense. As of this writing, The Last Jedi is in post-production, Han Solo is in principal photography, Episode IX is in pre-production, and Indiana Jones 5 is in development. That's four massive blockbusters Kathleen Kennedy and company are trying to juggle at once, so they do have a full plate. Even though all of that is on the horizon, people can't stop theorizing what comes next. But what if Lucasfilm isn't sure yet? There's some evidence out there to suggest 2020 potentially will be a Star Wars free year at the multiplex.
A few weeks ago, Disney unveiled a massive release schedule that ran from now until the end of 2020 (with some 2021 dates thrown in for good measure). Interestingly enough, the last Star Wars movie on the slate is Episode IX, which comes out in May 2019. The simple explanation for this is that Lucasfilm isn't ready to announce the third spinoff yet, but there's a difference between revealing the specifics of a project and merely giving it a release date. For instance, that Disney slate has several "Untitled Marvel Movies" and "Untitled Pixar Movies," which will all get official titles when the time is right. What matters most is that they're on the calendar, staking claim to prime real estate before the competition. So it's fascinating that Lucasfilm, who knows how to plan ahead (all Disney era Star Wars directors were attached to their respective films in 2015) hasn't simply given "Untitled Star Wars Anthology Film" a slot in 2020.
Instead, the studio pushed the aforementioned Indiana Jones 5 back from July 2019 to July 2020. Conspiracy theorists might say this is because Lucasfilm knows they aren't going to release a Star Wars spinoff that year, but still wanted to come out with a new crowd-pleasing blockbuster. Granted, Marvel is now in the business of distributing three films annually, but every studio is different. Typically (though there are exceptions), Pixar has one movie a year and puts all of their resources behind that one product. Just because Marvel has a proven way of doing things, that doesn't mean every Disney affiliate has to copy them. For what it's worth, Lucasfilm never made a Star Wars and Indiana Jones installment in the same year, allowing all the previous entries to be the tentpole for them. Something similar could be in the works here. Again, they were confident enough to schedule a fifth adventure for Henry Jones, Jr., but made no mention of another Star Wars anthology. That is somewhat telling.
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It's quite apparent the Star Wars franchise will continue on the big screen after Episode IX, but nobody is ready to confirm anything yet. Comments from Kennedy and Disney CEO Bob Iger on the matter are a little vague, making mention of discussions the story group will have as they see what they can develop. Even Kennedy's prediction the third anthology could be announced this summer (perhaps at D23) was far from certainty, claiming the creative process "is its own thing." She doesn't want to rush something through the pipeline for the sake of making a release date - which is smart. At Celebration Orlando, Kennedy said the response to Rogue One gave them more confidence in regard to the spinoffs, so maybe Lucasfilm didn't want to get too far ahead of themselves before seeing how the public would react to the Star Wars standalones. Now that they know there's an audience for them, they have the freedom to explore other topics and they're currently kicking around ideas. From the sound of things, the studio doesn't want to schedule a third spinoff until they're sure they have all the pieces in place.
Kennedy could be correct and this summer will see some kind of announcement, but 2020 dates are already starting to fill up. Lucasfilm's windows of choice for Star Wars (Memorial Day and Christmas) are occupied by Godzilla vs. King Kong and Avatar 2 for that year right now, so they may have missed the boat. Because of the Avatar theme park, Disney has a stake in that franchise and wouldn't directly challenge it at the box office. Star Wars could probably easily budge the MonsterVerse from its perch if they wanted, though right now they seem content letting other high-profile franchises scoop up key release dates. This lends some credence to the notion Indiana Jones 5 will be Lucasfilm's contribution to Disney's massive 2020 box office haul while the studio figures out what to do with Star Wars. Giving the galaxy far, far away one year off wouldn't be the end of the world; Star Wars Land opens in 2019 and will be a year-round revenue generating machine for generations, and deliberately starving the marketplace of new Star Wars content is an ideal way to drum up hype and anticipation for its return after an extended break. It's worth noting Memorial Day 2021 is still up for grabs as of this writing.
Right now, the one thing that is very clear is Lucasfilm is weighing all the options for the future of Star Wars. They're unsure if the Skywalker saga will continue past Episode IX and will gather to talk about more spinoffs within the next six to eight months this year. What's most important to them is telling high-quality stories that will keep the brand thriving. Both The Force Awakens and Rogue One were well-received, so the last thing Lucasfilm wants to do is kill the forward momentum with mediocre productions that diminish interest in more endeavors. If that means they need to take extra time and release the third spinoff in 2021 instead of 2020 as originally intended, the fans would most likely be understanding. When Episode IX premieres, it will be the fifth new Star Wars movie in five years - and nobody ever thought we would get an Episode VII at some point. Viewers have been spoiled.
The answer to the question posed in the headline is essentially "when Lucasfilm is ready." As Yoda would say, always in motion is the future, and it's difficult to get a read on things that far out. Even Kennedy doesn't know what will happen, or there surely would be a third Star Wars spinoff on the docket for 2020 right now as Disney announced all their projects for the next few years. The Mouse House and Lucasfilm are obviously interested in keeping Star Wars around as long as possible since it brings in billions of dollars in ticket and merchandise sales, but they aren't going to move forth with the next phase of projects until a concrete plan is locked down. Something could be revealed at D23 in July (though we've pointed out that's not a sure bet), but fans would be better off just enjoying the present instead of focusing on what happens beyond Star Wars 9. If the caretakers of the far away galaxy don't know yet, then it could be some time before the public does.
