Breaking: Disney Confirms "Star Wars" Release Schedule at CinemaCon

by Eliot Hochberg

Disney Studios chief Alan Horn laid out Disney's plans for Star Wars for the next six years Wednesday at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.

Expect a new Star Wars feature each summer in odd years - 2015, 2017, and 2019 - with a character based feature from the Star Wars universe in the even years, starting in 2016. Those are the rumored Yoda, Han Solo, etc. films, although no specifics were confirmed by Horn on those films today. It's said elsewhere that the standalone films will not necessarily fit in with the chronology of the upcoming episode features.

The big news here is first that JJ Abrams is going ahead with the 2015 release, which had been uncertain just after he was picked to helm the Star Wars franchise in addition to Star Trek. What's more, and this probably comes as little surprise, the films are confirmed now as summer releases.

JJ Abrams will direct Episode VII, from a script by Michael Arndt, screenplay writer for Little Miss Sunshine, Toy Story 3, Oblivion, and the upcoming Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

With information from Variety and ComingSoon.net.