When will Star Wars 9's trailer release? Episode IX won't hit theaters until December 2019, but fans are already wondering when they'll see the film's first footage. While every movie set in the galaxy far, far away comes with monumental expectations, the latest from director J.J. Abrams definitely has a tall order ahead of it. Not only does it need to end the Star Wars sequel trilogy (and the Skywalker saga) on a high note, but it needs to be a commercial rebound for the franchise following the box office disappointment of last summer's Solo: A Star Wars Story. There will also be curious eyes watching Star Wars 9 closely to see if it can provide an antidote for the extremely toxic discourse that broke out in the aftermath of The Last Jedi.

Lucasfilm is reportedly looking at Star Wars 9 as something of a course correction, but it's important to understand the truth behind that claim. Abrams has already gone on record to say complaints about Rian Johnson's polarizing creative choices for The Last Jedi will not impact Star Wars 9. Instead, all parties involved are doing what they can to ensure they do not have another Solo situation. The spinoff's financial prospects were hamstrung by an uninspired marketing campaign, so the studio will have to implement a different strategy for Star Wars 9's trailers. With that in mind, when will the first trailer come out?

Related: When Will Lucasfilm Announce The Star Wars 9 Title

Lucasfilm has yet to officially confirm when they'll release the first look at Episode IX, but based on the marketing for both Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi we can make a good guess: the Star Wars 9 trailer will most likely release on Friday, April 12 during the film's Star Wars Celebration 2019 panel. The panel takes place 11am-12pm CST, meaning we can expect the Star Wars 9 trailer to release at 10am PST/1pm EST/6pm BST.

Last updated April 9 with possible trailer time.

Fans will recall trailers for The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi premiered at that convention back in 2015 and 2017, respectively. Since those two movies combined to gross more than $3 billion worldwide collectively, it would be wise for Lucasfilm to replicate that tried and true marketing plan as much as they can. While there's plenty of new Star Wars content on deck (including two live-action TV shows for Disney Plus), Star Wars 9 will surely be the centerpiece of the event, with a panel to showcase new footage and details. The film will also be in the thick of post-production at that time, meaning there should be a handful of finished shots (with visual effects) to include in a preview.

Releasing a trailer sooner may be tempting, but it reads as unnecessary right now. The only big release before Celebration is Dumbo, while dropping the Star Wars 9 trailer in early April means it can still play in front of Avengers: Endgame.

More: Every Star Wars 9 Update You Need To Know

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