It looks like the Millennium Falcon decided to skip the Kessel Run: Disney has announced that the eighth installation in the Star Wars franchise will not make its debut until December 2017, seven months later than originally planned.

According to the Meet the Movie YouTube podcast, the delay is due to script rewrites imposed by director Rian Johnson, the force behind 2012's cerebral sci-fi flick Looper and the nouveau-noir cult classic Brick. IGN reports that the screenplay's makeover is related to Johnson's observations regarding the commercial and critical response to The Force Awakens — specifically to Rey, Finn and Poe's dynamic, with a positive outcome for Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac in terms of expanded screen time. 

As for other characters set to be introduced in Star Wars VIII? Not so much. It looks like their roles — which may or may not be played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tatiana Maslany, Bel Powely and Gina Rodriguez, according to the rumor mill — might be reduced.

Originally, the movie was slated for a May 2017 release. 

Via: Polygon