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Today in Film Twitter, there’s a great deal of talk about Disney’s plans for the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In this piece from The Hollywood Reporter about the studio’s plans for a Dec. 14 premiere in Los Angeles, Borys Kit mentions that “Disney is attempting to keep the film’s secrets under wraps, so there likely will be minimal screenings for press and cast and crew in advance of the premiere.”
This has understandable been the cause for concern among press, who usually see movies a week or two in advance for the purposes of performing interviews, preparing reviews and other features around the film’s release. But it also shouldn’t be seen as a surprise. Director J.J. Abrams has approached The Force Awakens with his classic Mystery Box mentality, keeping quite a bit of the film’s production under wraps and convincing Disney to very slowly and methodically roll out marketing materials. Why? Because Abrams loves the idea of the unknown and feels that people will enjoy a movie more if they know less going in. In today’s era of spoiler culture and over-marketing, he might have a point. We’ve covered the concept of spoilers and how they effect our enjoyment of entertainment extensively. They can be good, they can be bad and they can be unavoidable at times.
Spoilers is exactly why Disney might keep the press from seeing The Force Awakens until, at the very least, the last possible moment. My guess would be that it screens the morning of release or even the night before.
Now, you might think that if spoilers were really an issue, why would any studio screen anything for press? These screenings are marketing tools, used to raise awareness of a release. In most markets, the include not only press but regular folks who have run radio contests or picked up a pass at their local coffee shop. They are called “Buzz Screenings” for a reason. This is the kind of help that a Star Wars movie probably won’t need.
What Abrams and Disney seem to be most worried about is keeping the film’s secrets in-tact until opening weekend. The press is usually pretty good about not spoiling movies (most of us love the unspoiled movie experience just as much as everyone else and would rather ruin it for others), but Star Wars is a different monster. Every little rumor, every little detail and every little peek at what The Force Awakens has to offer has been picked apart ad-naseum by the movie blogosphere. With Star Wars and with Marvel movies, there does not seem to be a line that cannot be crossed. This could be Disney’s way of paying back the press, which as a whole has been very closely attentive and unrestrained about Star Wars.
It also infers, to a certain extent, that The Force Awakens has something big to hide. I’m reminded of a rumor upon which we reported in February (potential spoiler warning, obviously) that could turn out to be a huge moment in the new Saga. If something like that is true — something that alters the storyline of a major character — it’s likely that Disney will try to avoid seeing the Internet plastered with “You Won’t Believe What Happens to ________ in The Force Awakens” headlines a week before the film hits theaters. As much as reputable outlets would never do that, we all know that someone out there would.
Does this change the way most of us will experience The Force Awakens on opening weekend? Probably not. But it will be talked about. And it’s important to understand why a studio might limit access to a movie like this. It has a lot to do with the director, some to do with how much Disney trusts the press, and potentially a lot to do with the secrets that exist within the movie itself. It probably has nothing to do with the quality of the film, which is usually the case when a studio decides not to screen it for critics.
For The Force Awakens, we remain undeterred. It remains at the top of our most anticipated of the rest of 2015 list. And no matter when we get to see it, we’ll be there with bells on. Then we can all meet back here and discuss.
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