‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Trailer Won’t Premiere On ‘The Hobbit’; Disney Has “Bigger Plans”
Wednesday, avery credible sounding rumorbegan to circulate that the trailer forStar Wars: The Force Awakenswould be attached toThe Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Well, we’ve heard from a very credible source that, with 100% certainty, theStar Wars 7trailerwon’tdebut with Peter Jackson’s latestThe Hobbitfilm. There’s a very strong likelihood it will play with that film but according to the source, Disney has “bigger plans” for the trailer debut than a simple attachment. What does that mean? When will it happen? We honestly don’t know. But we’ll offer up a few suggestions about theStar Wars 7trailer release below.
So if Disney has “big plans” to release the first trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and with it the first images and information about the film, what could that mean? Well a debut on TV is possible. Something Disney and Lucasfilm promote to to drive ratings for one of their shows. It is November after all, a sweeps month, when ratings for TV shows are used to set the rates for advertising. A month TV stations generally save their biggest events for. Could an attachment toAgents of S.H.I.E.L.DorStar Wars Rebelsbe in order? Possibly. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy is married to producer Frank Marshall and his next film,Jurassic World, is likely to debut its first trailer during the Thanksgiving night NFL game on a network owned by their distributor. That’s pretty big, and could be the pattern forStar Wars.
Or maybe they take it one step further: an event on the big screen. 20th Century Fox had the right idea when it attachedThe Phantom Menacetrailer toMeet Joe Black, but showed the trailer both before and after the movie. That was unique and awesome. But if we are to assume the trailer will be out by the timeThe Hobbithits theaters, the pickings are slim. (And to be clear, it is an assumption. An educated one but an assumption nonetheless.)The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1is out this weekend. Next week,Penguins of Madagascaris kind of big. I don’t think it would be onExodus: Gods and Kings, and then it’sThe Hobbit. Is it possible it won’t be out beforeThe Hobbit? Yes, but that’s not what we’re hearing.
Then there’s the chance they go the route James Cameron did withAvatar. Rent out a ton of theaters from coast to coast and invite fans to come in and watch the trailer. Now you’re generating news reports because of the crowds, crazy social media buzz, and an event like atmosphereStar Warsdemands.
Or if they wanted to go totally out of the box, what’s a bigger holiday event than the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade? Maybe Santa Claus comes down Broadway, live on TV, and with him he brings a gift: The trailer forStar Wars: The Force Awakens.
Obviously, that last one is a joke but it’s as factual as the other guesses at this point. To be clear, everything above is speculation except this: The trailer forStar Wars: The Force Awakenswill not debut withThe Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. It may play with it, it may play after it, but either way the debut will be something more grand.
How do you think Disney will manage the Star Wars 7 trailer release?
