Disney confirms additional stand-alone 'Star Wars' films

• Tweet

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Stand-alone films featuring iconic "Star Wars" characters are being developed in addition to three planned sequels, Hollywood's Disney studio said Tuesday.

Walt Disney Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger confirmed the speculation about additional movies during an interview on CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo."

"There has been speculation about some stand-alone films that have been in development and I can confirm to you today that, in fact, we are working on a few stand-alone films. [Screenwriters] Larry Kasdan and Simon Kinberg are both working on films derived from great 'Star Wars' characters that are not part of the overall sage. So, we still plan to make 'Star Wars 7,' '8' and '9,' roughly over a six-year period of time, starting in 2015, but there are going to be a few other films released in that period of time, too. ... I guess this is big news. There has been a fair amount of speculation out there and we thought we would take the opportunity today here on CNBC as a matter of fact to confirm that."

The announcement regarding the three sequels came last year after "Star Wars" creator George Lucas sold his Lucasfilm production company to Disney for more than $4 billion.