2015 is all set to be quite the year for Disney. So far the studio has six films slated for release that year, most of them during those all-important summer months when the children are out of school and the grown-ups are so bored that they will go see literally anything. So, one of the more surprising omissions in Disney’s current line-up is Star Wars: Episode VII, which has no set release date as yet.
That being said, the most recent rumor on the release of Star Wars: Episode VII comes via Badass Digest, who claim that Disney are looking at a December 2015 release date instead of the much coveted summer one. This seems a little far-fetched, given that Disney CEO Alan Horn recently remarked that the film was likely to hit sometime during the summer. The most probable candidate has been May, given that every single Star Wars film has been released during that month.
So why is December gaining traction as a probable release date? First there’s the problem of J.J. Abrams, who has a tendency to miss his own release dates. Disney could be giving him as much space as possible to make the film. Then there’s the issue of a very crowded summer line-up. Disney has their hands in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Finding Dory, Pirates of the Caribbean 5 and Inside-Out, all slated for summer releases.
While the mouse house could not possibly be concerned about Star War: Episode VII getting lost in that shuffle, there is the danger that one of those other films might. Pirates of the Caribbean 5 might have a bit of a rough time of it, going up against both Avengers and Star Wars in the same summer. Placing the next Star Wars in December 2015 avoids overcrowding and sets it up as one of the major tentpole films for the holiday season. Not a bad idea, when you really think about it.
This is all rumor right now, as are most things about Star Wars: Episode VII. Remember, this is a film that has not even been fully cast yet. Whatever happens, we can expect Star Wars: Episode VII sometime in 2015. For right now, that’s all we’re going to get.
