StarWars.Com announced officially that an 88-second tease of “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens” would premiere on select movie theatre on November 28, 2014. 30 movie theatre locations across the country will be getting the early look on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, while the trailer will roll out for the rest of the world in December.
But for those of us following the rumors of a new trailer for “The Force Awakens” over the last few weeks, it’s been a long and intriguing day.
Early this morning, Regal Cinemas chain sent out a tweet, facebook post, and mailing list email announcing that they had the trailer for “The Force Awakens” playing on all showings of all films at the nine locations listed on their website. This seemed like a massive confirmation of stories that we’d be getting a trailer for the new “Star Wars” film by the end of the week. But where were the official confirmations?
Many of us in the fan press scratched our heads and held stories until we knew more. I reached out to Lucasfilm, but received no response as this was still before 6:00 am PST.
Then Regal’s social media posts began to disappear. First the tweet was deleted. Then the post on Facebook. Soon, the logo for the film on their website was replaced by the following graphic:
It seemed pretty clear that someone at Regal had jumped the gun. And while there were many calls for calm in fandom, panic ensued. Many seemed outrage that the list of the theatres was as small as nine.
But new information began pouring out over the course of the day, starting with a tweet from JJ Abrams with the following picture:
Other movie theatre chains, including AMC and Cinemark, soon offered cryptic tweets about a pending announcement about their participation.
Then StarWars.Com posted an announcement with the following list of participating theatres:
An early 88-second tease of Star Wars: The Force Awakens can be seen in 30 theaters across North America beginning Friday morning, November 28. Following this weekend, the tease can be seen in theaters around the world this December.
Check out StarWars.com’s complete list of theaters playing the tease below!
AZ PHOENIX HARKINS TEMPE MARKETPLACE CA LOS ANGELES AMC CENTURY CITY CA LOS ANGELES Indep EL CAPITAN CA IRVINE REGAL SPECTRUM IRVINE 21 CA SAN FRANCISCO AMC METREON 16 CA SAN JOSE CINEMARK OAKRIDGE 20 CA SAN DIEGO REGAL MIRA MESA 18 CAN TORONTO CINEPLEX YOUNGE & DUNDAS CAN VANCOUVER CINEPLEX RIVERPORT CO DENVER AMC WESTMINSTER 24 DC WASH D.C AMC TYSONS CORNER 16 FL MIAMI CARMIKE PARISIAN 20 GA ATLANTA REGAL ATLANTIC STATION IL CHICAGO REGAL CITY NORTH MA BOSTON AMC BOSTON COMMONS 19 MI DETROIT CINEMARK SHOWCASE 20 MN MINNEAPOLIS AMC SOUTHDALE MO KANSAS CITY AMC STUDIO 30 NY NEW YORK AMC LINCOLN SQUARE 12 NY NEW YORK REGAL UNION SQUARE OH CLEVELAND CINEMARK CINEMARK 24 PA PHILADELPHIA REGAL WARRINGTON 22 TN NASHVILLE CARMIKE THOROUGHBRED 20 TN KNOXVILLE REGAL PINNACLE TX DALLAS CINEMARK WEST PLANO 20 TX HOUSTON REGAL MARQ*E STADIUM 23 TX AUSTIN ALAMO ALAMO S LAMAR UT SALT LAKE CITY CINEMARK CINEMARK 24 WEST JORDAN WA SEATTLE REGAL THORNTON PLACE 14 WI MILWAUKEE MARCUS BROOKFIELD 16
But with the cat out of the bag, the controversy didn’t end. Some fans feel excluded. That’s not a point that can be argued, this is an exclusionary release pattern for what is probably the most anticipated film trailer since this piece promoting “The Phantom Menace.”
But this is exactly what they did for “The Phantom Menace,” albeit on a smaller scale. 75 theatres received the trailer and it was attached to just “The Waterboy” and “Meet Joe Black.”
While it’s true that media and marketing has changed significantly since 1998, this method of release certainly makes seeing the trailer an event, rather than just dropping it online. Many of us might not agree with the tactic, but this is one of the busiest holiday weekends of the year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if these theatres were some of the busiest for these particular theatre chains.
We’re going to see this movie anyway. I’d wager that most of the people who will bear witness to the trailer this coming weekend won’t even know it’s coming. Those of us dedicated “Star Wars” fans in driving distance of a theatre will certainly be there, too, but I wonder if this sneak peek is even meant for us.
It’s also unknown when this trailer will make it online officially. There will almost certainly be bootlegs, so my guess is that it would drop officially at the latest by Monday, December 1st.
But Lucasfilm and Disney are old hands at this and we’re watching from the sidelines. I would have to assume that more went into this decision than someone saying, “Let’s piss some fans off.”
Regardless of your feelings for the rollout, there are some things we all know and can get excited about. There are 88 seconds worth of new “Star Wars” coming at us a full year-plus before the release of the first new “Star Wars” film in almost a decade. It’s got brand new John Williams “Star Wars” music, composed and recorded (according to reports) specifically for this suite of images. It will almost certainly give us our first concrete (and official) clues about what the future of “Star Wars” in an era beyond “Return of the Jedi” holds.
It’s exciting. And whether I’m able to see it this weekend or the next, I’m going to be grateful for it.
Do I wish we could all see it at the same time? Yes. I wish we could all be in the same theatre, experiencing it together. But we’re all going to see it. And, as Qui-Gon Jinn told Obi-Wan Kenobi, “Don’t center on your anxieties, keep your concentration here and now.”
And the here and now says, “There’s more “Star Wars” coming.”