As the poster child for a rejuvenated franchise, Star Wars: The Force Awakens will herald the beginning of a new era for Lucasfilm’s prestigious galaxy far, far away, now that Disney has mapped out plans for a trilogy of numbered episodes along with the standalone Anthology features.
Laying the groundwork for a bona fide cinematic universe will naturally mean a certain level of crossover between each film, though don’t expect The Force Awakens to include a post-credits sting when it releases in only a couple of weeks’ time.
While Marvel has conditioned us all into remaining firmly in our seats when the credits start to roll, with some films even containing two bite-sized teases, J.J. Abrams has ruled out the possibility of Star Wars: The Force Awakens adhering to the tried and tested formula, after revealing that “all of the scenes are actually in the movie.”
Simple and to the point, it would seem that those early rumors claiming that The Force Awakens would introduce some form of snippet for Gareth Edwards’ Rogue One were off base, though let’s not forget that Abrams has danced around the truth in the past in order to retain an element of surprise – Benedict Cumberbatch’s role in Star Trek into Darkness, anyone?
One way or the other, it’s difficult to foresee Abrams’ blockbuster overtly teeing up Episode VIII with a ham-fisted post-credits clip. After all, we know that Rian Johnson is cooking up a Star Wars film that is set to bring “cool, sci-fi realism” into the mix, so why spoil the party ahead of time?
Star Wars: The Force Awakens launches into theaters on December 18 in North America.
