We are nearing the halfway point of 2017, and that means we are a mere six months away from Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Originally, the movie was supposed to come out in May of this year, but Lucasfilm decided to bump that back, which may have been a good decision. One reason for that is that the movie still isn't done yet, but director Rian Johnson recently confirmed that Star Wars: The Last Jedi will wrap post-production this August.

The director was recently a guest on the Talk House Podcast and offered up the information without being probed about it. When asked what he hopes to do after Star Wars 8, he provided a timeline for his next project and, in that, he revealed when the movie will be totally done and in the can. Turns out, that will be in just a couple of months Here's what he had to say about it.

"Well, that's the thing, I've got, like, a couple idea that I've been working on. Pretty well-developed. I just gotta sit down and fuckin' write one of them. And I guess my pipe dream is...'Cause we're actually gonna be done with [The Last Jedi], if we stick to schedule, we're done with post-production, like, in August, and the movie doesn't come out 'till Christmas. So I'll have a couple months that I'm hoping, my pipe dream is I'll actually write one of these scripts."

This is interesting for a few reasons. For one, we now know when to expect Star Wars: The Last Jedi to be completely done. That means we will probably hear some buzz about early screenings, even if they are Lucasfilm and Disney only screenings that are behind closed doors, but those will be telling. There is also just the knowledge that the next chapter in the Skywalker saga will just be sitting there, waiting to be seen. It is also interesting that Rian Johnson's next project is going to be another original project, it sounds like. That should make anyone who has seen movies like Looper or Brick pretty happy.

It is also interesting to think about that original release timetable. Given how long the movie has been done with principal photography, it isn't as though Rian Johnson and everyone working on Star Wars: The Last Jedi couldn't have finished the movie on time, if pressed. But having that extra time, especially given the tragic passing of Carrie Fisher after production wrapped, was probably very beneficial. We'll have to wait and see how the movie turns out.

We'll have a slightly better idea in not too long, since another trailer for Star Wars 8 is on the way very shortly, probably at D23 or San Diego Comic-Con. Still, don't expect Lucasfilm and Rian Johnson to give away too much, as the new trailer is very short and they seem to be keeping this one especially under wraps, even for a Star Wars movie. In any case, we are one step closer to Star Wars: The Last Jedi being a reality.