It has finally been confirmed - Star Wars: Episode VII will be released on the 18th of December 2015. It's still two years away, of course, so you can expect the seemingly endless rumours about the film to continue until then - at which point the Episode VIII speculation will commence.
You might think a release that big means most multiplexes will be booked up for holiday season 2015. Actually, it's only one of several major releases scheduled for that month. Both Da Vinci Code sequel Inferno and video game adaptation Warcraft had already settled on the 18th before Star Wars decided to mark its territory (a move away from the traditional Star Wars month of May). Odds are their respective studios will opt for a bit of sensible rescheduling given the new competition, but it just goes to show how valuable the Christmas release window is to Hollywood: in fact, Kung Fu Panda 3 was earlier this year delayed until December 23rd - you've guessed it - 2015.
All this, alongside the unannounced projects that are likely to choose a December release closer to the time, will simply mark the busy conclusion to what is already looking like the single biggest, most expensive year for Hollywood in a long time. Just check out a list of franchises scheduled to return at some point during the year:
- The Penguins of Madagascar
- Fantastic Four
- The Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Jurassic World
- Independence Day 2
- Ted 2
- Terminator 5
- Spongebob Squarepants 2
- Minions (Despicable Me spin-off)
- Batman vs Superman
- The Smurfs 3
- Hotel Transylvania 2
- James Bond 24
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
Even allowing for a few inevitable delays, cancellations, schedule changes etc... that's a dizzying year for sequels. Including Star Wars, Inferno and Kung Fu Panda, it's an average of around 1.5 high-profile sequels a month (and with the tendency to split sequels like The Hunger Games in half these days, 1.5 isn't a complete impossibility). Who knows what announcements the next 24 months will bring, although you'd hope most producers will recognise how crowded the market will be and maybe consider holding off for a few months.
Not only that, there's some films that aren't exactly sequels, but certainly represent safe bets, familiar names or even dreaded 'reboots': a Frankenstein remake, Marvel's Ant-Man, Disney's live-action Cinderella, a feature length Peanuts film, the much-anticipated Assassin's Creed adaptation (based on a very successful game series)... The list goes on. They might not have a number beside their names, but they'll arrive with no shortage of audience awareness.
It's not all sequels and familiar names, thankfully. As well as the countless small, independent or world titles we'll only hear about much closer to the time, there's already a few more original ideas being prepped for release. Brad Bird - director of The Iron Giant, The Incredibles and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol - is working on a mysterious big-budget sci-fi title called Tomorrowland: if his work so far is anything to go by, it could be very special. The shifting of Finding Nemo sequel Finding Dory from 2015 to 2016 has left space for two original Pixar films for 2015: Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur. This will surely be a relief to many who think the studio has become too sequel-focused recently, although it also means 2014 will be the first year since 2002 without a Pixar release.
With over a year left to go until we ring in 2015, all this is liable to some degree of change. Nonetheless, it is already inevitable that 2015 is going to be a very busy year indeed for cinemas. As for 2016? There's Finding Dory, How to Train Your Dragon 3 (the second is due next year), a potential Star Wars spin-off, Amazing Spiderman 3, Avatar 2 and two currently secret Marvel films, among others. Maybe 2015 isn't so unique after all...
