It’s fairly telling that the day after Disney formally announced the December 18, 2015 release date for “Star Wars: Episode 7,” head honcho Bob Iger took to the press to talk about the film and the studio’s plans for world domination. And with the rumor mill saying that Kathleen Kennedy had asked for the movie to be pushed to 2016, only to be rejected by the Mouse House, Iger now wants to go on the record and assuage fans (and investors) and let them know that Abrams is being given all the time they can muster to do it right.
“One of the things that was very important to us is that we give the creative team, J.J. Abrams and his writing team, the time to design, write and produce the film so that we can optimize quality, so they can create a great film,” Iger stated to Bloomberg. And as many fans have noted, ‘Episode 7’ will be the first time a “Star Wars” film has not been released in the month of May. Apparently, Disney had toyed with that idea, but again Iger stresses it was about giving the sequel the right time to shine (though that’s empty rhetoric if Abrams and Kennedy wanted even more additional time with a 2016 release date).
“At one point we considered the summer of 2015, but it felt like with the changes we made in the writing team that that was going to create a bit of a rush, and we didn’t think that was optimal, for obvious reasons,” Iger stated. “So Christmas 2015 became the date. [It] happens to be the date which ‘Avatar‘ — which is the number one movie of all time — was released, so we like that. Certainly, hopefully that will bring some good luck even though that was not our film. And Christmas is a good time for a film like ‘Star Wars’ we think, which will have obvious interest for young people and old people alike.”
Basically, the thinking here is: optimal quality + optimal box office = winter 2015. Thoughts? And by the way, if you’re nine years old, you will be excited to learn that Iger also hints at “Star Wars” attractions coming to Disney theme parks, because, obviously. Watch the conversation below.