SPECULATION When is the trigger for a fourth trilogy announcement?

I hope we don't have to wait until Rey, Finn and Poe are grandparents......

 

After 2020 when the sequel trilogy and three anthology films are completed. They already have too much to do right now to start worryng about another set of films.

 

I think they should wait. I love SW, but it's gonna get saturated and too much. Maybe take a small break and breathing room then come up with good stories and the next trilogy.

 

Eh, I say wait at least 5 years (maybe 10) from the release of Ep. 9 to a fourth trilogy. Give us time to miss it.

 

Exactly.

 

1 - No question there will be more episodes past IX.
2 - Yes... too much invested in our new heroes to not tell more stories. My guess they'll move more to a Marvel model. You'll get a Poe film, Rey film... etc... and they'll bring back the entire game for episode movies (like the Avenger films).
3 - Assuming the schedule doesn't change and episode IX comes out May 2019 my guess is the next Star Wars film would be a standalone so they'd probably announce the next episode movie in the Summer of 2019 or in 2020.

The story group has this planned out for the next 10 years. From a business stand point it would be crazy to wait to make more episode films. They'll keep making them until people quit watching.

 

No way in the galaxy is this thing being released in 2021, just two years after IX, in my opinion. From the end of the OT to the start of the PT there was a 16-year gap; likewise, from the end of the PT to the start of the ST there was a 10-year gap. Sure, it's substantially shorter than the wait between ROTJ to TPM, but we're probably looking at a 5-year wait minimum between the end of the ST and the start of the XT at best, and more realistically 8 or 10.

They know that we want the Old Republic era to be filled out in canon, for TCW to be completed and for some closer-pre-PT stuff than the Old Republic era, as well as new and original stories, and that's without mentioning fleshing out the 30-year in-universe gap between ROTJ and TFA. My point being: there's a lot for them to do, in my opinion, outside of the Skywalker story that is the episodic entries.

1 - logically, yes, there should be. TFA is currently the second highest grossing film of all-time worldwide in terms of initial runs (unadjusted), third highest of all-time including rereleases (unadjusted) and the highest grossing film domestically of all-time by a long shot (unadjusted). Star Wars sells (who would have guessed?) leaving records broken in its wake, whether it be in ticket sales, merchandising or other areas.

However, as a lifelong fan of the franchise, I must admit that I want IX to be the end of the Skywalker legacy and core episodic entries, for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, John Williams turned 85 this year, and if we're thinking of a 2025-2030 release window for this trilogy then he'll be between 93 and 98. Look, I love John Williams as much as everyone else here, and so I mean to mention this only to make a point: he might not be around by then, and, heck, it hurts me to mention this, but he might not even be around to score IX. I mean, I pray that he does, but you never know what could happen between now and then (which applies to the main cast of characters too). Sure, RO in my opinion has a great score - an opinion with which some might disagree with - and sure, Giacchino only had 4 weeks to write and compose the score, but honestly, regardless of time constraints: I don't think there will ever be another composer who can do anything more than imitate - at best - and ruin - at worst - Williams' work up to this point, the effects of which can not be overstated.

And then there's another thing, which is that there don't need to be episodic entries to tell stories set in the future of this galaxy: that can be done anyways. If every trilogy we keep saying that "there will be a bigger bad", it will substantially weaken previous Big Bads such as Palpatine and you run the risk of doing what the old EU ran into, which is by giving way to a power creep which distorts the balance of these films and the entire canon. Furthermore, how does the ST end and XT start? Rey saves the galaxy and restores peace only for 20 years before the next Big Bad turns up, when another young protagonist finds her and the cycle starts all over again? We can have films based on the NJO or completely new characters after the events of the ST without them being episodic entries in a trilogy, and to have another trilogy - and, more importantly, to never end the Skywalker story, which the episodic entries are about - based on Skywalkers repeating the same old cycle runs the risk of becoming an arbitrary plot and leads to a failure to diversify the storytelling styles that we could see utilised in this universe.

2 - Depends on how the trilogy ends; in my opinion, it will probably end with the First Order winning out if we are to see another trilogy.

3 - not a little, but quite a bit longer. Announcing X - XII runs the risk of taking away from the ST and damaging opinions of the films - and LFL - as a whole in the event that it is announced too soon.

The announcement should take place roughly 2 years before the trilogy is set to begin, in my opinion.

 

I don't think they will wait 5 to 10 years for the next trilogy. There's too much money to be made and Kennedy can't wait around that long she getting as old as Lucas... heheh. I think we will get stand alone films until they figure out how to go forward with the next trilogy thats about 2-3 years after the release of episode 9.

 

I find this train of thought kind of odd. I understand why people want a gap, but we're in a new era. We've never had a Star Wars movie every year before. So comparing the gap between trilogies is pointless. That was a decision completely up to Lucas. Lucasfilm/Disney have zero reason to wait very long for episode X and billions of dollars of reasons to get right back to it.

 

It makes sense from a business perspective to wait too, though. For example, Rogue One crossed the $1 billion mark, but would have likely grossed more if it came out before TFA or if there was a larger gap between it and TFA.

For example, the reason that's TFA was such a success at the Box Office is because of the 10.5 year wait from ROTS to TFA (amongst many other things), and likewise the success of TPM at the Box Office was also down to the 16 year wait from ROTJ. Building anticipation for a movie is one of the most important parts of marketing a film, and we see this almost weekly with the release of new trailers for major tentpole films in the current cinematic climate; this wait is part of building that anticipation.

Unless you're suggesting that if Disney had acquired LFL straight after the prequels and started the ST in 2008 that it would have made the same money, if not more? The gap gives us fans a chance to enjoy and soak up the other films, which further fuels out anticipation to see these films 5+ times at the cinema.

 

If this was true we wouldn't be getting two/three Marvel films every year. Again, I understand why people want a gap, but it's disconnected from business reality.

 

Except that you failed to mention that every MCU film is building anticipation for the next through post- and mid-credits sequences, and more importantly, building to a climactic point: the Avengers facing off against Thanos. Another important thing to note is that The Avengers was the MCU's only film of 2012, as it was the end of huge anticipation - and the first phase - and, as their highest grossing movie, is the most straightforward to compare to SW in terms of numbers; would it have grossed as much as it did if other MCU films were released that year? Disney knows how packed the cinema slate is for the next 5 years - taking up most if not all of the major tentpole dates themselves at this stage - and I don't think comparing the MCU to SW is a fair comparison considering how the two have considerably diverse effects on popular culture.

If your statement was true, though, Disney would be filling out more of the year with multiple SW films, and yet we are only currently scheduled for one per year until the end of 2020, and I'm going to call you nuts if you think that's simply because they're "checking out the market". No, this is SW, a film they've given the James Cameron all-time record breaking slot of December onwards at theatres for the last two films, and with great effect, knowing that this means less direct competition and therefore a higher effective gross.

Disney are much more willing to lose potential money with MCU films because they release so many per year currently; of course they understand the importance of timing and anticipation, and for further evidence we need look no further than the 7-month delay of the release of VIII , which was down not to production issues or script rewrites or anything disastrous, but because TFA was such a success. But if we do need to look further, let's note the fact that episodic entries are released biennially (every two years) as opposed to annually.

 

I admire your passion on this issue, but I expect the next step for Disney is to start pushing multiple Star Wars films every year. The demand is there and Lucasfilm has the resources and talent to create a lot more content. These films are guaranteed money makers. Disney is in the money making business. That's just the economic reality.

Disney is making a sequel to Jungle Book. Not because that story requires a sequel, but because the last one made money and the next one will as well.

 

I hope they don't go the Marvel route. Finish this trilogy and then focus on the Stories as they clearly are a success so far. Wait 5-10 years and bring back the gang for another go. To be honest, the thought of yet another trilogy in the future seems a bit much for me, but given enough time and depending on how the rest of this trilogy shapes up, I might be more interested.

Honestly Disney will recoup their investment and then some soon --if they haven't already-- and they can pretty much sit back and absorb the somewhat passive income SW generates without making movies at all. They can afford to take things slow and for the sake of quality I hope they do.

 

I believe The Story should always be the primary determining factor. The strength of the story and its characters, in particular.

If there is a compelling story to be told chronologically after Episode IX, then I would hope planning should already be underway for that, especially if it's intended to continue or conclude the story of Rey and company.

I think it might be better both for fans (especially older fans) as well as the actors to work on that sooner rather than later.

I wish a new trilogy had been realized short after Return of the Jedi. Luke, Leia, and Han had such great stories to be told. It can still happen in different ways, but I can only now imagine the possibilties of what could have been done with the original stars.

Today, many of us original trilogy fans are experiencing great new excitement over the re-invigoration of the Star Wars storyline, and, personally, I think, as long as there is an excellent story yet to be told, many of us would attend eagerly to such news.

Letting any substantial time pass could actually backfire and perhaps even contribute to fatigue among more than a few fans.

I do think there is a very potentially compelling trilogy (or two), which could be set during or well before the Knights of the Old Republic, and which could be immediately announced without any fear of diminished enthusiasm in Star Wars saga.

We should not necessarily resign ourselves to awaiting "Anthology" films. There could even be other "sagas" set before or beyond the Skywalkers.

The Star Wars galaxy is huge, much bigger than the Sith and the Jedi, and it should be explored. In fact, it's arguably larger and more extensible than any "Marvel Universe," since, with Marvel you have many pre-existing characters, locations, and situations which must always be considered and made to fit within the larger narrative / continuity.

With Star Wars, as Rogue One most recently demonstrated, it is somewhat "easier" to introduce entirely new characters (e.g. Guardians of the Whills), worlds / settings, and ideas even into an existing trilogy timeline (e.g. Jedha, Scarif), or to return to previously known worlds and extend them with significant additions (e.g. Vader's castle on Mustafar).

Especially after the conclusion of Episode IX and Marvel's Infinity War, I think Disney would do well to rededicate itself to a deeper and purposeful exploration of the vast Star Wars cosmos.

The scales of storylines can and should vary (i.e. not everything has to be told at the level of Rebels / Resistance / Jedi vs. Empire / First Order / Sith).

Sure, there can and will always be comics and novels, but, especially with Star Wars, the films have always been the most significant force of this franchise, and, if done properly, and with great judicial creativity, I would expect that could very well continue to be the case for many years to come.

 

It would not surprise me if they moved away from the trilogy model. The Avengers/X-Men model of stand-alone ensemble films with story arcs that recur in later films and then character focused films.

The whole stand-alone film experiment has happened for a reason. I suspect it was about testing the audiences reaction to shorter self-contained stories.

 

As mentioned previously, it really depends on the outcome of EPIX. If the First Order wins the final battle of EPIX, then we will get another trilogy pretty fast. If not, I'm hoping for a trilogy set before the prequels (The Old Republic). Another possibility would be a trilogy of Kenobi movies or other spin-off ideas.

But one thing is for sure, Disney won't take a break after EPIX/third spin-off movie. Personally I would welcome a break of 3-5 years though.

 

I think they may space it out with a live-action TV show or two... but I'm honestly not sure.