When Disney acquired LucasFilm for a whopping $4 billion back in October 2012, the studio also announced thatStar Wars: The Force Awakensis finally happening. Many fans had worried that Disney would put their own stamp on theStar Warsfranchise, but during aVanity Fairevent over the weekend, directorJ.J. Abramsset the fans' minds at ease, confirming that he actually has final cut on the project, meaning he has ultimate creative control on the project, but he did add that Disney has a clause in the contract that would allow the studio to take over, if they saw fit. It doesn’t seem that has happened, though, with the director praising the studio on their approach, stating they aren’t trying to “Disney-fy” the franchise.
“Yeah, yeah. (But) when you do a Disney project, there’s a clause in there that you kind of go, ‘Well, if I were a lawyer I could probably drive a truck through it.’ I cannot say enough about howRobert A. Igerand Alan Horn have understood this thing that is now part of the Disney company. And they’re not trying to Disney-fy it. They’re not doing anything other than, I think, an incredibly smart thing, which is lettingKathleen Kennedy- who is a remarkable person and producer - run and lead Lucasfilm to a place where I think it wants to go.”
J.J. Abrabsconfirmed at Comic Con this summer that thenew trailerwill debut sometime this fall, although an exact premiere date has not been given. The first trailer didn’t feature any of the originalStar Warscast members, but the second one did have Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) making their triumphant return. Fans got their first look at Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) in the behind-the-scenes video that debuted at SDCC, but fans still haven’t seen Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in any of the footage that has been released thus far.
Disney and LucasFilm still haven’t revealed a full synopsis forStar Wars: The Force Awakensyet, but producerKathleen Kennedyconfirmed earlier this month that this movie, and the sequelsStar Wars: Episode VIIIandStar Wars: Episode IXwill follow Luke Skywalker’s family. It isn’t known which of the new characters who will be introduced inStar Wars: The Force Awakensare part of Luke Skywalker’s family, but hopefully we’ll have more details soon.
Back in August, certainbox officeanalysts predicted thatStar Wars: The Force Awakenscould shatter box office records when it hits theaters on December 18, with a $615 million worldwide opening weekend, which would shatter a box office record that was just set a few months ago. Universal Pictures’Jurassic Worldbroke a number ofbox officerecords back in June, taking in $208.8 million domestically and $315.3 million internationally in its opening weekend, for a worldwide haul of $524.4 million. While we wait for more details onStar Wars: The Force Awakens, check outJ.J. Abrams' full video interview below.
