Disney CEO Bob Iger Confirms Han Solo Movie for May 2018 Release

During the Walt Disney earnings call Wednesday morning, CEO Bob Iger talked quite a bit, naturally, about the Star Wars franchise. In addition to cameras rolling for Episode VIII and production on Episode IX beginning, he talked a little bit about the non-episodic movies as well.

Release date talks are interesting because they can change at the drop of a hat. When Episode VIII changed to December, making it the third Star Wars release in a row to premiere in the winter month, speculation jumped that the other announced films in the series, currently with May 2018 and May 2019 release dates, would follow suit.

Not so for at least the Han Solo: A Star Wars Story (not official title), which Iger confirmed will have a May 2018 release.

"This is the first of a set of planned stand-alone stories," he said of Rogue One, which will complete principal photography soon, "we're already in preproduction on our next one, for release in May of 2018."

Interestingly, he was not quite as specific when talking about Episode IX. That film, he said, has started production for "a 2019 release." That means it's possible it will keep its originally assumed May 2019 release date, or that they haven't decided whether or not to push it, too, to December 2019. That May timeframe is getting crowded, after all, with Disney's own Avengers: Infinity War part 2, and the May 24 date that most would assume for Episode IX, then, already has been parked for a LEGO movie from WB. They're following that a few weeks later with Justice League: Part 2 on June 14, and Disney follows with The Incredibles 2 on June 21. So, the chances of Episode IX coming out in December of 2019 are probably higher than May at this point.

Incidentally, May 2018 puts Han Solo likely between two WB releases, LEGO Movie Sequel on May 18, 2018 and Godzilla 2 on June 8, 2018.