Steven Spielberg Changes 'Ready Player One' Release Date, Avoids Star Wars: Episode VIII!

After the massive worldwide success of last year's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which turned into one of the highest-earning movies of all time, it's no surprise that filmmakers are afraid of their movies going up against the sequel. Now, Steven Spielberg has made the smart move: the release date of his next film, Ready Player One, has just been moved to avoid facing Episode 8.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Spielberg's 2017 film, based on the popular 2012 dystopian sci-fi novel of the same name, has been pushed back more than three months to avoid bumping into the Lucasfilm sequel.

The rescheduling move comes weeks after Disney announced the still-unnamed Episode 8, currently in production, would be moved from Memorial Day weekend 2017 to December 15 of that same year, the very date Ready Player One was set for release.

Variety reports that Spielberg's film, from Warner Bros., preferred to move the date to early 2018 instead, partly to avoid facing the Disney giant and partly because they need a big film scheduled around Easter. Ready Player One's new release date also means it's sandwiched between the end of the Winter Olympics and the start of the FIFA World Cup, which is a fairly interesting time to be at.

It's understandable that Warner would choose to steer clear from Episode 8's path. Last December's Force Awakens, became the third biggest box office smash of all time (not adjusted to inflation), sitting only behind James Cameron's megahits Titanic and Avatar. Considering there's also a Star Wars spinoff coming out this year, Rogue One, which could create even more momentum for the 2017 film, it seems like the smartest choice to move away from potential box office suicide.

Ready Player One will be Spielberg's return to big movies, as the film is expected to be something of an extravaganza from the director of classic box office hits like E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Jaws. In the past few years, Spielberg's works as a director have been more focused on smaller, historical movies, such as the Academy Award-winning film Lincoln and last year's Bridge of Spies.