Star Wars: Episode VIII is being pushed back seven months, from Memorial Day weekend in 2017 to Dec. 15 of that year.
Instead, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales will open on May 26, 2017, Star Wars' old release date. The Pirates movie, one of Disney's biggest franchises and returning Johnny Depp in the role of Captain Jack Sparrow, was set to have opened July 7.
Disney insiders say the decision to push back the release of Star Wars comes after the blockbuster success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens over the year-end holidays. They say they have now decided to give Episode VIII the same Christmas treatment.
