'Star Wars: Episode 9' release date, plot rumors: Premiere moved back to December 2019

Director JJ Abrams announces release of 'Star Wars: Episode 9' in December 2019Reuters/Paul Hackett

For the avid "Star Wars" fans around the world, The Force will soon (and yet again) be felt within this galaxy.

Director J.J. Abrams has announced that "Star Wars Episode 9" will begin filming during the summer of 2018. However, this means that the film's release has also been pushed back to Dec. 20, 2019.

As fans around the world wait for the release of "Solo: A Star Wars Story" this May 2017, the anticipation for "Star Wars: Episode 9" has long since begun after the box-office success of "Star Wars Episode 8: The Last Jedi." With JJ Abrams back on board as the film's director after previous director Colin Trevorrow was fired, he has announced that despite the delay in pre-production for the upcoming movie, they are already in the process of writing the script and are determined to start filming this summer.

Also, back on board to continue the film's legacy is music composer John Williams as he is set to do the entire film score for the said movie as well as the theme for the upcoming "Solo" film.

However, due to the recent setbacks, the film's release date has been pushed back to Dec. 20, 2019, giving fans two years in between the recent episodes. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Abrams said, "I saw that this was a chance to sort of realise something that we hadn't quite achieved – and part of that was it was simply the beginning of these new characters and their story."

At Japan's D3 Expo last 2017, Abrams stated that he is currently writing the screenplay with Chris Terrio. According to theories posted by Mike Zeroh on his YouTube channel, filming is scheduled for the summer in order to stay true to the visuals of the terrain of Jakku, where Jedi newbie Rey (Daisy Ridley) originally hails from. According reports, location scouts and certain members of the crew have been spotted in Abu Dhabi recently, further fueling the speculation about Rey's homecoming.