By: Sam Martini ~Staff Writer~

Ever since Disney bought the rights to Star Wars for $4 billion back in 2012, its popularity has grown with the new installments planned every year for the next five years.

This Monday, Disney announced the title of its newest Star Wars film: Star Wars: The Last Jedi. This is the eighth episode but the 10th movie in the saga.

The announcement of the new film has caused a surge in the “Star Wars-mania” that has grown prevalent over the past few days. This surge contrasts with the disappointing response following the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which garnered only half of the opening weekend box office numbers of 2015’s Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens.

With merchandise and movies, Star Wars is and will continue to be a giant cash cow for Disney. This begs the question, though, of how far Star Wars can go before people begin to grow tired of it. If Disney continues ro release a film every year, rotating years between continuing stories and standalone films, its cash cow may easily turn into a dead horse by 2020.

Star Wars has become a staple of most childhoods of people age 5 to 50. This may have just been a coincidence, or may have to do with the start of a new Star Wars “series” every 10 years: with the Prequels (1999) and with The Force Awakens (2015).

Regardless, Star Wars has been around for 40 years now. If they can capture the magic instead of the fatigue, Disney could keep Star Wars alive for generations to come. Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits theaters Dec. 15.