In an article by iKwiz, J.J. Abrams, director of the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens, was reported telling attendees at the 2015 Visual Effects Society Awards about a recent meeting with Disney, in which he asked the company to move the December 2015 release date for the film forward to a possible summer release.
Earlier this week, Disney issued a subpoena over leaked images surrounding the film’s production, hoping to use the opportunity to prevent any further leaks. Considering Abrams’s public frustrations with the constant leaks and spoilers from the set, a summer release date would benefit the film’s secrecy. However, if Disney does intend move Episode VII‘s release date to summer, it would be competing with other tentpole blockbusters including Disney’s own Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, as well as Universal’s Jurassic World.
Seeing as Disney has so carefully synergized its franchises to maximize profits during both the summer and winter blockbuster seasons, it would be unlikely that Disney would allow Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm to release their films so closely to each other, and leave the winter season without any tentpole films.
