During the last few weeks there has been some quiet murmurings of a possible release date change for Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Reports of comments made by the film's director, J.J. Abrams at the Visual Effects Society Awards, a few weeks ago, suggest that in order to avoid fans being ruined by spoilers before the film's release it may be prudent to change the release date and release the film before any more secrets are released. So if this really is this case, where on the calendar would it fit?
After studying the calendar I've come to a jaw-dropping conclusion. If it was to happen, the movie to be crushed under the franchises monumental weight would be Fox's Fantastic Four reboot scheduled for Aug. 7.
Why Aug. 7? I think this makes sense for several reason. One reason is that it leaves plenty of room for the rest of Disney's tentpole projects due out this summer. "Avengers: Age of Ultron," due on May 1, will likely dominate the box office for a month and likely break a few records during that time period. Before that month is over, Disney has scheduled "Tomorrowland" on May 22. A film Disney is likely hoping is the beginning of a new franchise. A week after the release of Jurassic World, the new Pixar film "Inside Out," is released June 19th. Disney and Pixar would very much like to see Pixar's return to its former glory after a few recent lackluster releases.
A month later on July 17 we have "Ant-Man," while considered a dark horse it still has the potential to surprise audiences like "GUardians of the Galaxy," did last year. So where would there be space for something as mammoth as Star Wars? It could capture a spot on Aug. 7 causing Fox to have to make some quick, dirty and fast decision about the "Fantastic Four."
Disrupting the release of the "Fantastic Four," could be a strategic move on their part to help hasten an environment where Fox may not see the value of holding on to the Fantastic Four property, especially if it performs more poorly than previous attempts. If a release date change is imminent I would not be surprised if Aug. 7 is being bandied about.
Please post below your thoughts and comments, Would this be a jerk move by Disney? Would it be due justice to Fox for how thye have handled the property? Or are we still looking at a December release date?
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