Did You Really Think Star Wars Was Going To Stop With Episode IX?

Disney don't spend $4 billion on a franchise just to make a couple of films and then let it stagnate. Just in case you needed some clarification on that matter, Disney CEO Bob Iger recently talked with Newsbeat about the future of the franchise after Episodes VIII, IX and all those little spinoffs in the pipeline like Rogue One and Han Solo.

"There will be more after that, I don't know how many, I don't know how often."

No doi. Yet somehow this news story is playing out across the wire as some massive shock; it's like people have just heard that Dyson are going to keep making vacuum cleaners and losing their minds about it. Regardless, hopefully Disney will show some semblance of restraint - one Star Wars film every year for a decade could make the brand get real stale, real fast for anyone other than diehard fans. But then again, Marvel still seem to be going strong, and they got the ball rolling in 2008, with two films per year being the norm, so it's anyone's guess. Speaking of which, if you were wondering what Iger's plans for Marvel were after the culmination of Phase Three, it has something to do with the thousands and thousands of characters in Marvel's repertoire.

"Marvel, you're dealing with thousands and thousands of characters - that will go on forever."

Again, you may be experiencing the familiar feeling of a voice inside your head exclaiming, "What else is new?". The real question regarding the future of the MCU is how they'll eventually decide to go about using their marquee characters once all the current contracts expire.

Captain America: Civil War is released in the UK on 29th April and in the US on 6th May. Star Wars: Rogue One is released on 16th December.