Star Wars rumoured to go on a long hiatus after Episode IX

Unlike certain other film franchises we could mention, Disney and LucasFilm seem to know their audience pretty well when they made this announcement.

Obviously there has been a healthy appetite for the Star Wars universe, as proven by The Force Awakens making over $2 billion at the box office, followed by the $1 billion banked by Rogue One. Following that we've got Episode XIII: The Last Jedi due this December, followed by the untitled Han Solo movie due in May 2018, and then Episode IX set to arrive sometime in 2019. Now several sources are reporting that an Obi-Wan Kenobi spin-off is being developed. It's rumoured that Ewan McGregor will reprise the role and that the story will be set between Revenge Of The Sith and A New Hope. Rogue One helmer Gareth Edwards has also been tipped to direct. Similarly, the much-mooted Boba Fett standalone movie - which was initially set to be directed by Josh Trank, before his recent reboot of The Fantastic Four tanked at the box office - is still on the table. However, as far as the primary story goes, once we Episode IX arrives, that will be it for a while. Disney and LucasFilm are looking to have a similar hiatus that we got between the three trilogies so far (1977-1983, 1999-2005, 2015-2019), to ensure that fans aren't flooded and eventually bored by a constant stream of Star Wars movies. At the moment, this is all just rumour, but much of it is expected to be confirmed at the Star Wars Celebration event, which is taking place from April 13 to 16, and is expected to give us our first proper trailer for Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. Watch this space, and may the force be with you.