Disney and its latest subsidiary Lucasfilm have named the date: We'll be getting more Star Wars during the holiday season of 2015. Specifically, Friday, Dec. 18.
That's quite a bit later than the date Disney offered at CinemaCon back in April, which was "Summer 2015." But given the recent shake-up in the screenwriting department, which saw original screenwriter Michael Arndt replaced by director J.J. Abrams and original trilogy veteran Lawrence Kasdan, it may come as no surprise that Lucasfilm needs a little more time to get this right.
See also: One Year of Disney Star Wars: What We've Learned
The new date will "ensure our extraordinary filmmaking team has the time needed to deliver a sensational picture," said Alan Horn, Disney chairman.
The date marks a departure for the series: every other Star Wars movie was released in May. This was more of a sentimental attachment than anything else: the original Star Wars was released on May 25, 1977, and helped inaugurate the whole concept of summer blockbusters.
That was then, this is now. Star Wars movies used to own the summer. Now they'll likely dominate the winter.
J.J. Abrams has made it clear that he is breaking with the Lucas way of making Star Wars in a number of respects. He'll be shooting the movie on film, rather than digital; it will make use of more models and less CGI; he's even spoken approvingly of the "Dear J.J. Abrams" video that offered four "rules" for making more Star Wars.
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