So, if the film does get delayed, it’ll likely move to early summer 2016, which is already jam-packed with big tentpole films. Disney and Marvel have Captain America 3 in May, on the same day as Warner Brothers’ Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Then, Fox has X-Men: Apocalypse coming out on May 27th, on the same day as Disney’s Alice in Wonderland sequel. A few weeks later, Sony releases The Amazing Spider-Man 3 on June 10th (though that may have recently been moved to 2017), followed by Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon 3 on June 17th, the same day as Disney and Pixar’s Finding Dory.
June is even more packed, with ID Forever: Part 1, Tarzan, and Angry Birds on the 1st, an untitled Marvel film on the 8th, Ice Age 5 and Bourne 5 on the 15th, King Arthur on the 22nd, and Planet of the Apes 3 on the 29th.
I would keep going, but I think you get the point. In only three months, we’ll have seen thirteen major tentpole releases. Where could Star Wars: Episode VII fit in? Anywhere it goes, it runs the risk of not only hurting its own box office potential, but that of surrounding films as well. Moving it to 2016 would likely cause a large domino effect, sending other studios scrambling to find new dates for their films to avoid the box office behemoth that Star Wars shows every indication of becoming.
Of course, until we hear anything official from Lucasfilm, Bad Robot, or Disney, this is all just speculation. Ford’s injury really could be no big deal, and things may move ahead smoothly. If not, then studio heads will have to adjust accordingly and work something out.
Imagine for one second though that Batman V Superman, Captain America 3, Star Wars: Episode VII, and X-Men: Apocalypse all came out within three weeks of each other. Geeks really have inherited the Earth!
Until we hear otherwise, expect Star Wars: Episode VII to blast its way into theaters on time, on December 18th, 2015.