Star Wars 9: The Rise Of Skywalker Release Will Be Followed By Hiatus, Says Disney Boss

Anticipation is sky-high for Star Wars: Episode IX, which releases in December and will complete the current trilogy that kicked off with 2015's The Force Awakens. But just prior to the debut of the movie's title and first trailer, Disney boss Bob Iger delivered some news regarding plans to slow the rapid influx of new Star Wars movies.

In an interview with Bloomberg to mark the launch of the annual Star Wars Celebration this weekend, Iger stated that the studio plans to take some time off after Episode IX hits theaters. "We have not announced any specific plans for movies thereafter," he said. "There are movies in development, but we have not announced them. We will take a pause, some time, and reset, because the Skywalker saga comes to an end with this ninth movie. There will be other Stars Wars movies, but there will be a bit of a hiatus."

At a panel during Star Wars Celebration, the cast and director JJ Abrams shared more details on this final installment of the Skywalker saga. The title will be The Rise of Skywalker, and it appears to bring the franchise full circle: the Emperor is back. You can check out the first teaser-trailer here to see it all for yourself.

Iger also told Bloomberg that the studio plans to focus on Star Wars TV projects for the time being. It has been confirmed that the live-action TV show The Mandalorian will be available on the streaming service Disney+ when it launches in November. In addition, there is a series focused on the Rogue One character Cassian Andor in the works, plus a new season of the animated show The Clones Wars.

Episode IX will be the fifth Star Wars movie to be released in four years. While The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and Rogue One were big box office hits, last year's Solo: A Star Wars Story was the first commercial failure in the series. After the movie only grossed $392 million worldwide, there were reports that Disney's plans for more spin-off movies had been cancelled.

In terms of the Star Wars movies that we know about, there are separate trilogies in development from Last Jedi director Rian Johnson and Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss. It was recently rumored that Benioff and Weiss's films will be set in the Old Republic, several thousand years before the events of the current movies.

For more on Star Wars Celebration, go to GameSpot sister site CNET to see a full rundown of what to expect from the show.