Except both reports are saying summer 2016 ain't happening, and that they can't make summer '15. So...

I may have underestimated Iger's stubbornness and slavish devotion to stockholders, but the fact remains that EVERYONE else creatively has been pushing away from summer '15. From a creative and scheduling standpoint, summer '15 has never made any sense, considering the timeline, which has been my argument all along. But if Iger wants to rush this thing and potentially damage the brand even further for future movies, I can't argue against his irrationality.

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Either way, I just want all this settled. Hard to believe this movie was announced a year + one day ago, and we still don't have an actual release date, title, or any official casting. Crazy.

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Yep, with you there. But even this doesn't compare to the long and troubled history behind the development of The Hobbit. The Tolkien Estate lawsuit, the New Line lawsuits and Jackson/Shaye debacle, the NL/WB merger, Del Toro's departure, the industrial dispute in NZ, WB wanting to move the production, etc.

It was just never-ending. It's a wonder they even got made.

agreed on that mr spilner, but everyone knew where that was headed. being "fresh off" the LOTR, at least more fresh off than the Star Wars breaks, that was clearly gonna land back in Peter Jackson's lap.

Why exactly does it take that long to make a movie?

For some movies, it doesn't.

For the next chapter in one of the most important film franchises in history with decades of conceptual art and backstories set in that universe, requiring massive amounts of visual effects and practical set design, prop design and fabrication, location scouting, story development, etc., it's going to take a while.

They can do it, if they really want to.

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Why exactly does it take that long to make a movie?

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To add to what fig said, it's literally coordinating THOUSANDS of people across at least two different continents + travel for a crew of HUNDREDS to DOZENS of locations, all of which have to be booked according to a very tight, specific schedule, one that somehow also has to allow for extra days/last-minute changes/ineveitable problems.

Not to mention, the designing, making of, and building of THOUSANDS of props, THOUSANDS of costumes and DOZENS of giant sets, some of which can't start being built 'til the script is locked and decided upon (which it obviously isn't). This is all while simultaneously casting the entire movie (which means endless sessions over weeks and months, also happening on at least two different continents) while SIMULTANEOUSLY trying to lock the script, the most important piece of all. And that's just preproduction.

Shooting + effects are a whole other headache that makes the preproduction process pale in comparison. And for every day it takes, throughout this entire process, for 90% of the people working on it, they're each putting in an average of around 12-15 hours per day.

Making a movie is a monumentally draining task. Especially one of this scope. I wish more people knew how insanely hard it is, just so there'd be a little more appreciation for what's being accomplished, good movie or bad.

benMath08

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For the next chapter in one of the most important film franchises in history with decades of conceptual art and backstories set in that universe, requiring massive amounts of visual effects and practical set design, prop design and fabrication, location scouting, story development, etc., it's going to take a while.

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This! I mean just look how awesome Phantom Menace was. I mean that only took about 30 years. (Assuming you believe the lie that lucas had it all mapped out from day one)

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Why exactly does it take that long to make a movie?

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To add to what fig said, it's literally coordinating THOUSANDS of people across at least two different continents + travel for a crew of HUNDREDS to DOZENS of locations, all of which have to be booked according to a very tight, specific schedule, one that somehow also has to allow for extra days/last-minute changes/ineveitable problems.

Not to mention, the designing, making of, and building of THOUSANDS of props, THOUSANDS of costumes and DOZENS of giant sets, some of which can't start being built 'til the script is locked and decided upon (which it obviously isn't). This is all while simultaneously casting the entire movie (which means endless sessions over weeks and months, also happening on at least two different continents) while SIMULTANEOUSLY trying to lock the script, the most important piece of all. And that's just preproduction.

Shooting + effects are a whole other headache that makes the preproduction process pale in comparison. And for every day it takes, throughout this entire process, for 90% of the people working on it, they're each putting in an average of around 12-15 hours per day.

Making a movie is a monumentally draining task. Especially one of this scope. I wish more people knew how insanely hard it is, just so there'd be a little more appreciation for what's being accomplished, good movie or bad.

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Dec 14 then?

Pretty good take from Forbes on what's at stake financially, re: the latest news...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2013/11/01/will-disney-sacrifice-star-wars-films-for-star-wars-toys/

I just cannot fathom why Disney would rather rush the film and potentially end up with a mediocre product, than taking their time with it, making a great film that is both critically and commercially successful (although the latter is a given), and allowing them to push the series for the next few years/decades. The money WILL come. You can't wait another year? The merchandising alone will probably pay for the movie.

This all happened because, for whatever idiotic reason, Disney decided to say "2015" in their original announcement a year ago. Simply using those four numbers in a press release is what set the expectations of the stockholders, and now Disney is (apparently) bound by those very expectations that they themselves needlessly set. There was NO NEED to say 2015 in that press release. I get wanting to have a plan, and let everyone know you're serious with a date, etc. But they could have just easily said "in the next three to four years," or something along those lines.

Though, the original sin was Lucasfilm hiring a screenwriter before the Disney deal was even complete. Again, I understand wanting to be ahead of the game. By getting the ball rolling on a treatment/script that early, their intentions were in the right place. And while script work commencing before a director is hired is common practice in Hollywood, in this situation they should have gone after a DIRECTOR first. You don't do all this work on a script and then go out and hire someone like J.J. ABRAMS and say, "here's your script and here's your release date." If you're hiring someone like Brett Ratner? Sure. But a writer/developer/hands-on type guy like Abrams - someone on his level - this isn't how you treat them.

When Paramount originally hired Abrams for M:I 3, they hired HIM first, and then let HIM pick the writers and develop the story. Star Trek was a similar situation, in that Abrams was involved from the get go, but didn't officially commit to direct until the script was to his liking. Christopher Nolan pitched Batman Begins, was hired, and THEN developed that script with his own writer (Goyer). So if you're aiming for that type of visionary blockbuster director (not that Abrams and Nolan are in the same league), why would you then shove a pre-written script down his throat after hiring him? I understand Lucasfilm wanting control. I get that. But there was a better way to go about this while still maintaining control at close to the same level.

[This message has been edited by TCTTS (edited 11/1/2013 2:25p).]

Tell the stockholders to go pound sand. They'll make their billions six months later than originally said in a press release.

(yes, as an employee of a Fortune 500 company I realize this is easier said than done)

Please, please, please let this be true...

http://www.jedinews.co.uk/news/news.aspx?newsID=14172

^ he was a great villain in Serenity. Would be a fantastic addition to Star Wars.

He would make a badass villain or Jedi, totally in support if this is the kind of person JJ is casting.

please let be true. Awesome in almost everything he does.

also....to be you.... "dude that is nowhere near confirmed"

Didn't present it as fact, hence "please let this be true." Unlike your Alexander post...

I know it's a pipe dream, but I sincerely hope that in one of these films, if not the first, we get a movie that downplays the Jedi and lets the universe stand on its own.

The Force and especially lightsabers have suffered from a power creep that I don't think can be undone. It makes for a clumsy story whenever the writers are constantly having to make excuses why the Force or a lightsaber can't solve whatever problem the characters are having. Seeing as this will be a post-RotJ story, it shouldn't be hard to limit the impact that the scattered and broken Jedi order can have.

My guess is that at the opening of Episode VII, the Jedi will basically be a thing of the past. Then, when whatever new (or "reborn") evil starts making itself known, old-man Luke will be approached to train a new Jedi, much the same way Obi-Wan was approached to train Luke - because a Jedi is ultimately what will be needed to fight the new threat. I really do have a feeling they're going to echo a few beats of A New Hope in that way.

Also, this is definitely encouraging...

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JoshWildingNewsAndReviews/news/?a=89478

Agreed TCTTS.

We know from Episode III that not many Jedi survived but there's probably still a few around, if we look at Episode VII taking place somewhere in the neighborhood of 25-30 years after Episode VI I can see the introduction of an older Jedi as a Yoda-like figure for Luke or another young potential Jedi.

What will prove to be interesting is how much of the story Lucas/Lucasfilm already have mapped out, and how much Abrams and co will be able to adapt. Abrams is a guy who's shown he can really do well adapting and modernizing a franchise while staying true to the original.

He also impressed me with the way he approached Super 8, it really felt like an 80s adventure film to me (in a good way, story shortcomings aside). If he can manage to capture some of that feel of the original trilogy in the new ones I'll be pretty thrilled, and I'm hopeful that he can.

Episode VII - A Newer Hope

Episode VII - Yes We Can

So, we know that they've scrapped the EU material, but what about video games? Are those also classified as EU or as canon?

Lucas has a rating system for canon.

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G-canon is George Lucas Canon; the six Episodes and any statements by George Lucas (including unpublished production notes from him or his production department that are never seen by the public). Elements originating with Lucas in the movie novelizations, reference books, and other sources are also G-canon, though anything created by the authors of those sources is C-canon. When the matter of changes between movie versions arises, the most recently released editions are deemed superior to older ones, as they correct mistakes, improve consistency between the two trilogies, and express Lucas's current vision of the Star Wars universe most closely. The deleted scenes included on the DVDs are also considered G-canon (when they're not in conflict with the movie).

T-canon, or Television Canon, refers to the canon level comprising the feature film Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the two television shows Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the Star Wars live-action TV series. It was devised recently in order to define a status above the C-Level canon, as confirmed by Chee.

C-canon is Continuity Canon, consisting of all recent works (and many older works) released under the name of Star Wars: books, comics, games, cartoons, non-theatrical films, and more. Games are a special case, as generally only the stories are C-canon, while things like stats and gameplay may not be; they also offer non-canonical options to the player, such as choosing female gender for a canonically male character. C-canon elements have been known to appear in the movies, thus making them G-canon; examples include the name "Coruscant," swoop bikes, Quinlan Vos, Aayla Secura, YT-2400 freighters and Action VI transports.

S-canon is Secondary Canon; the materials are available to be used or ignored as needed by current authors. This includes mostly older works, such as much of the Marvel Star Wars comics, that predate a consistent effort to maintain continuity; it also contains certain elements of a few otherwise N-canon stories, and other things that "may not fit just right." Many formerly S-canon elements have been elevated to C-canon through their inclusion in more recent works by continuity-minded authors, while many other older works (such as The Han Solo Adventures) were accounted for in continuity from the start despite their age, and thus were always C-canon.

N is Non-Canon. What-if stories (such as stories published under the Infinities label) and anything else directly and irreconcilably contradicted by higher canon ends up here. N is the only level that is not considered canon by Lucasfilm. Information cut from canon, deleted scenes, or from canceled Star Wars works falls into this category as well, unless another canonical work references it and it is declared canon.

D is Detours Canon, used for material hailing from Star Wars Detours.

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http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Canon

[This message has been edited by AliasMan02 (edited 11/4/2013 10:24p).]

New casting call, with info on a couple of potential characters...

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/nailbiter111/news/?a=89596

And more about a potential late-2015 release date...

http://www.slashfilm.com/european-disney-fuels-speculation-of-late-2015-release-for-star-wars-episode-vii/

Interesting blurb about Abrams philosphy on a balance between the old and new trilogies.

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JoshWildingNewsAndReviews/news/?a=89478

Check a few posts up, fig.

TCTTS is going to blow all over this thread if it's released in December. Great poster, oddest obsession ever though.

Ha. I've admittedly gone overboard with the whole release date thing. But only because people continually questioned my sanity when I first brought it up. Then, even when it became clear that December was a legit/official option, I still got told I was crazy/wrong/etc. So it's more of a response than anything else, which eventually turned into pure overcompensation on my part. More than anything, I just want them to announce a date already. I really don't even care what it is anymore.

[This message has been edited by TCTTS (edited 11/5/2013 8:00p).]