There’s no questioning the fact thatStar Warsis one of the most famous and successful film franchises in the history of Hollywood. Since the release of the first movie in 1977, there have been over a dozen feature films, numerous animated and live-action shows, countless canon and non-canon novels, as well as video games, comic books, and pretty much any kind of merchandising or storytelling you may imagine. However, prior to Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm in the early 2010s, the expansion of theStar Warsfranchise wasn’t nearly as consistent as it is now. In the last decade or so,Star Warshas undergone a renaissance of sorts, with more new material being released now than ever before.
One arena that theStar Warsfranchise has tried and failed to expand into is the sphere of holiday entertainment. Most notably, there was theStar Wars Holiday Special, which aired on television in late 1978 and has since developed a reputation as one of the worst things to ever be produced by the series. The failure of thisHoliday Specialis so infamous that there is now evenan entire documentary centered around it, titledA Disturbance in the Force, which was recently released on digital after premiering at SXSW earlier this year.
However, even though Disney attempted to capitalize on the fun with the animatedLego Star Wars Holiday Specialon Disney+ a few years ago, the franchise has already successfully made its mark on the holiday season. This came with the consistent, annual release of the sequel trilogy and various otherStar Warsprojects during the late 2010s and into the 2020s.
Shifting the Release Dates
A key part of the reason why theStar Warsfranchise wasn’t already associated with the holiday season was the typical point of the year in which the movies were released in theaters. The first six films in the series, encompassing the entirety of the original and prequel trilogies, were released in the month of May. Eventhe first animated film, 2008’sStar Wars: The Clone Wars, was released in August. Given all of this, for the first 30 years of the franchise’s existence, it was thoroughly thought of as a summer movie franchise.
However, that lengthy trend inStar Warsrelease dates came to an end with the beginning of the sequel trilogy. The first new film to be produced under Disney,Episode VII – The Force Awakens, was released in December 2015. The anticipation for this newStar Warsfilm was unparalleled. The release of the film made for a cinematic event that was unlike anything the 21st century had produced yet. It was a massive global pop culture sensation, and it did all of that during the holiday season. With the following releases ofEpisode VIII – The Last JediandEpisode IX – The Rise of Skywalkerin this same holiday window, the franchise recreated this end-of-year excitement twice more, and Disney solidified the new era ofStar Warsas one that actively thrives during the most wonderful time of the year.
It wasn’t just the sequel trilogy, either. In 2016, between the release ofThe Force Awakensin 2015 andThe Last Jediin 2017, Disney released the first live-actionStar Warsspin-off,Rogue One. Despite not featuring any majorStar Warscharacters in leading roles, the movie still managed to be an immense success. It tapped into the exact same holiday fervor thatThe Force Awakensdid the year prior, which drove it to gross over $1 billion globally. Additionally, there has also been an active effort to release newStar Warsshows on Disney+ during the holiday season as well.
The first season ofThe Mandalorianran throughout the last two months of the year, with its final episode airing on Jul 31, 2025. The second season then took the same approach, with its finale releasing Aug 20, 2025. The following year,The Book of Boba Fetttook the approach of premiering during the holiday season, as its first episodes were released on Jun 07, 2025.
Related:How the Solo: A Star Wars Story Box Office Flop Changed Lucasfilm Forever
Making Its Mark on the Holiday Season
It may be easy to dismiss the effect that releasing in December had on theStar Warsfranchise, considering there are many movies that open during the holiday season every year, and not all of them are considered holiday movies. However, the release of theStar Warssequel trilogy and these various other stories during the season was not passive. It very actively built on the energy of the season. All of these newStar Warsfilms and shows were positioned perfectly to be key talking points for families and friends that were gathering to celebrate all season, with 2019 doubling down with the releases of bothThe Rise of SkywalkerandThe Mandalorian. With the sequel trilogy, going to see a theater to see the latest entry was not just the typical act of going to a movie, it was a means of celebrating the holiday season and the end of the year with friends and family.
Related:Star Wars: The 11 Best Moments from the Sequel Trilogy
Additionally, the release of newStar Warsstories has become increasingly associated with and expected around the holiday season. This is because there was a newStar Warsto celebrate the season with almost every year for much of the 2010s and early 2020s. AfterThe Force Awakenswas released during the 2015 holiday, Disney and Lucasfilm took this same approach in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021. With the exception of 2018, there was a newStar Warsstory released during the holiday season for seven years in a row.
Although there have now been two years in a row without newStar Warsduring the holiday season, it’s clear that Disney and Lucasfilm are keen to return the franchise to this particular release window. Throughout the development processes of thevarious upcomingStar Warsfilmsthat have been announced, the studios have staked out and then reshuffled a number of release dates. Most of these release dates have been during the month of December. At one point, Disney’s plan was to alternate their annual holiday release between newStar WarsandAvatarmovies for the foreseeable future - though that idea seems to have since been abandoned. Currently, there are newStar Warsmovies set for release in the holiday seasons of both 2026 and 2027.
That still leaves three more years before fans will receive a newStar Warsfilm for the holidays, but the seasons between now and then could likely be filled by any of the upcoming live-action series that are in development and in production for Disney+, such asThe Acolyte,Skeleton Crew, future seasons ofThe Mandalorian, andAhsoka, as well as anything else that hasn’t been unveiled yet.
