Walt Disney Pictures has just announced Star Wars: Episode VII will hit theaters on December 18, 2015 under the direction of J.J. Abrams with a screenplay by Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan (Empire Strikes Back) and a story by Michael Arndt.
Alan Horn, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, was quoted in a press release saying, “We’re very excited to share the official 2015 release date for Star Wars: Episode VII, where it will not only anchor the popular holiday filmgoing season but also ensure our extraordinary filmmaking team has the time needed to deliver a sensational picture.”
Abrams recently spoke with Deadline.com about the news he and Kasdan would take over scripting duties on the film, after Arndt worked on the original draft, stating the timeline for the film’s release was a big reason. Abrams told the site, “It became clear that given the time frame and given the process and the way the thing was going that working with Larry in this way was going to get us where we need to be and when we needed to be.”
He added after that, “Working with Michael was a wonderful experience and I couldn’t be a bigger fan of his or adore him more, He’s a wonderful guy and was incredibly helpful in the process.”
As of now there is no casting information just yet, but as rumors begin to continue and production nears we should have more information shortly.
The December 18, 2015 release date is currently shared with Inferno, Sony’s third installment in the Dan Brown Da Vinci Code series starring Tom Hanks. I can only assume they are going to want to shift that date a little bit because that is going to be a Star Wars weekend and you don’t want to get run over by the fanboy freight train.
