The title of the next installment in the Star Wars saga has been revealed.
Star Wars: Episode VIII will be called Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
The movie, which is scheduled for release on December 15, 2017, is written and directed by Rian Johnson, and produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman, with J.J. Abrams, Jason McGatlin and Tom Karnowski taking executive producer credits.
The movie, the second in the newly-energized sci-fi film franchise that focuses on the original characters, will follow the further adventures of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher).
"We have the greatest fans in this or any other galaxy. In appreciation of the fans, we wanted them to be the first to know the title of the next chapter in the Skywalker saga: 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi,'" Disney said in a statement.
Fisher shot all of her scenes for the movie before her sudden death in December of a heart attack, Disney said at the time of her passing.
Disney has not released plot details for "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" but the cast will include the return of "Force Awakens" cast members Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver and Lupita Nyong'o.
The most recent Star Wars-related movie, Star Wars: Rogue One, which was the first installment in the so-called Star Wars Anthology Series, was released last month. The film has grossed over a billion dollars worldwide.
The first Star Wars movie, Star Wars IV: A New Hope, was released in 1977, with others having been released throughout the 1980s, late 1990s and 2000s.
Some information for this report from Reuters.
