Yes, Of Course There Will Be More 'Star Wars' Movies After 'Episode 9'

There will come a day when the human race doesn't care about Star Wars. However, that day is long in the distance. That day is beyond our lifespans. You and me and everyone we know will be dust before the cyborgs and algorithms running the nation of Disney crunch the numbers and realize that the citizens of Future Earth are no longer interested in additional Star Wars movies.

So the news that Bob Iger, chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, has revealed plans to make additional Star Wars movies after the 2019 release date of Star Wars: Episode 9 is a real "Well, duh" moment. What, did you think he spent $4 billion of his company's money to buy Lucasfilm just to call it a day in a few years? Nope. Star Wars is forever. Star Wars will outlive you puny mortals.

Speaking with the BBC's Newsbeat, Iger confirmed that yes, more Star Wars is coming beyond the films that are already in the pipeline:

"There are five Star Wars films – four more with Episode VII: The Force Awakens – that are in varying stages of development and production. There will be more after that, I don't know how many, I don't know how often."

He is, of course, referring to Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode 8, Colin Trevorrow's Star Wars: Episode 9, Gareth Edwards' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and Chris Miller and Phil Lord's untitled Han Solo spin-off. The most interesting aspect of Igern's statement is him admitting that he doesn't know how often new films will arrive after a certain point. For some time now, the plan seemed to involve releasing an official "episode" every other year, with spin-off films being released in the off-years. That way, Disney could get an influx of that sweet Star Wars cash on an annual basis.

And that leads us to a few questions and concerns that we will address to a fictional Bob Iger. Although there was never any doubt about there being additional Star Wars movies past 2019, will Disney take a break before launching into another new trilogy? After all, much of Star Wars: The Force Awakens' power came from seeing old friends 30 years later. The passage of time meant something. That impact could be diminished if a new trilogy begins so soon after this one concludes. Could Disney retire Star Wars for a few years, or just make a few more spin-off movies in a row, as everyone bides their time and recharges their batteries for a fresh trilogy?

And here's something else to consider: what if annualizing Star Wars backfires? We saw this happen over the past two years with the final two Hunger Games movies, which wore out their welcome and grossed significantly less money than their predecessors. Right now, Star Wars movies are events worthy of celebration. What happens when they stop being rare treats and become just another thing that happens every December?

Of course, the trick to preventing this is to let the spin-off films develop their own disparate and unpredictable personalities, which appears to be the case with the serious-minded war film that is Rogue One. Since we already know that Star Wars is going to outlast you and everyone you love, we can safely assume that Disney and Lucasfilm have already thought this through.