ST Star Wars Episode VII coming out in Dec 2015?

I don't buy it.

 

Nah, epic fantasy fits December more so than space opera. Which means Disney will reserve that window for the Willow sequel.

 

The toys will come out at the least a full month before the film is released.

 

He was just guessing. He has no real info:
https://twitter.com/barbieguitar/status/397887161888174080

 

Well to be fair, Star Wars toys still sell pretty much like hotcakes when there have been no movies. The toy and merchandise releases for the prequels have been huge days (at least they were for TPM), so they actually could break the bank with new Ep7 toys a month before the movie comes out.

They could also still reserve a future May release for Ep8 and 9. A winter release could actually help sell more toys for Christmas than a May release since there would be burnout by winter with a May release.

 

His original tweets didn't sound like guessing, however. More likely, he spoke out of turn and is now fixing the mess, IMHO.

 

A Christmas Day release would be terrible for midnight showings, I think.

 

Yep, he was direct on his other tweets. Which he has now deleted. Sounds like someone from Disney told him to keep his mouth quiet or risk losing your job.

Here was his tweets before he removed them.

Dennis Barbie @Barbieguitar
#StarWars,Saw today some awsome first features/plans of new StarWars 7 movie coming end 2015. #Disney studio role out.

Dennis Barbie ‏@Barbieguitar 2h
Corax78 at this moment it is planned for end of CY15 but in the entertainment business you will never know. Might be some changes there.

 

Nah, otherwise why would be delete his tweets suddenly? I bet someone told him to hush it up.

 

i first saw Star Wars Xmas 77 in UK so fitting for me

 

No, as I suspected he was just venturing a guess based on the internet rumors; he had no real information. As for why would he delete his tweets... pretty simple. You work for a multibillion dollar corporation, you start spreading rumors and conjecture and you can cost your investors and stock holders real money. Forbes had a great article the other day which discussed the possible revenue losses if Disney releases Star Wars in December versus May. That kind of rumor spreading that fast can cause stock to devalue.


Yancy

 

Late 2015 would be a good compromise between Kennedy (who wants more time) and Iger (who wants it in 2015).

 

They should just release a raw footage / animatics cut to satisfy rabid fans December 2014.

 

My sources told me Disney denied this statement.

 

I would rather see a May 2016 opening than a December 2015 release.

 

He wasn't venturing a guess. He answered my question just shortly after he attended a meeting with Lucasfilm in Paris. It's easy to go back and 'Oh I'm just guessing' after you already spill the beans about Disney's plan for the most anticipated film of 2015.

His tweet also confirmed that he saw first features/plans for Episode VII, good chance the release date was talked about today in Paris.

 

Disney should probably release some info at this point, if purely for PR reasons. As we've seen over the last few months, the absence of actual info means that rumours are picked up on by the mainstream media and presented as fact, no matter how unverified. Fan art is used in articles in the absence of official imagery. There is no Episode VII logo, so the internet has produced its own. JJ and co may want to maintain secrecy, but they must understand that it's 2013. Without official information, the internet will simply manufacture its own, which will then be accepted by the mainstream media as fact.

The last few months haven't brought good tidings - director wants to quit, Disney have so far failed to secure the original cast, lead writer fired, no release date, the prospect of delays and production trouble, internal disagreements between LFL and Disney...this is all that the general public is hearing. Meanwhile, not a single shred of tangible proof that the movie exists has been released. Not a single image. Not even a teaser poster. C'mon, Disney, it's not that difficult - hire a capable graphic artist to knock something together in an afternoon, and the tide of negative press could easily be turned.

I'm not concerned at all, and I am aware that this is all part of the process of making the movie, but from an outsider's perspective, it's understandable that things aren't looking good. Buzz isn't being generated amongst the general public - skepticism is building. A year of dead silence has not made for good marketing.

 

Ok, I'll bite, and whip out some knowledge I am aware of through close associates (who are fellow Disney shareholders) who are pretty familiar with what is going on as far as marketing and merchandising. What he saw was simply a roll out of merchandising strategies, specifically for Christmas 2015. Merchandising strategies are well under way for both the Star Wars and Marvel properties for summer 2015. There are multiple Holiday season tie ins planned to coincide with the home video release of Episode VII in late October/early November.

There's simply way too much money that will be left at the table if Disney delays the release of this film. Add to that there are plenty of full blown investors who are still not sold on Star Wars as a Disney property. These people want to see returns on their $4 billion investment.... Sooner, not later.


Yancy

 

Here's what we have:

• early rumours from Devin et al of a late 2015 release
• THR reporting on friction regarding a summer 2015 vs. 2016 release
• SW.com only listing an "expected 2015" release on their last EpVII post
• a Disney rep asserting a late 2015 release only to then retract

Maybe it really is nothing, but it paints a pretty clear picture to me. I'd say Kennedy negotiated a late 2015 release, using 2016 initially in bargaining. There's too much smoke for there not to be fire, IMHO.

EDIT:

That actually does make sense.

 

So essentially he revealed the release date of the DVD and not when it's supposed to drop in theaters in 2015?

 

Thursday, people. Thursday.

 

Wednesday I've got Thursday on my mind.