Star Wars 9: Release date for Episode IX has been delayed

The news follows J.J. Abrams stepping in as director after Colin Trevorrow's own departure

After Star Wars: Episode IX's dramatic change in personnel, which saw J.J. Abrams step in as director after Colin Trevorrow's departure, comes a few other changes.

ScreenDaily reports that the final instalment of the new trilogy has seen its release date pushed back from 24 May 2019 to 20 December 2019, which is likely to set off a whole bunch of shifts in dates as studios try to fill the newly created void while avoiding the beast that is Star Wars itself.

The only other film occupying Episode IX's old release date is Warner Bros.' Minecraft, so there's certainly the opportunity to house a major tentpole there - with Wonder Woman 2 currently scheduled for a 13 December 2019 date, could it now take advantage of an early summer release?

That said, Guy Ritchie's Aladdin - which originally occupied the 20 December slot - has now been swapped into Star Wars' old 24 May slot. That may not put off some studios, but the monumental success of Beauty and the Beast should be a warning that Disney's live-action animation remakes are formidable blockbuster behemoths in themselves.

Disney has made a few other changes as well: the Untitled Disney Fairy Tale project scheduled for 3 August 2018 has now been changed to Untitled Christopher Robin Project, with a new Winnie the Pooh film having long been in the works for the studio.

Star Wars: Episode IX now hits cinemas 20 December 2019.

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