It looks like things may have gone from bad to worse in terms of the schedule for Episode VII. As was reported originally Harrison Ford sustained an injury on the set of Episode VII, when a hydraulic door closed on his leg on the set for the Millennium Falcon. The injury was originally reported as a sprain and then later updated to a break. The recovery time was reported as eight weeks, but it looks like that may change to 6 months instead. If that latter timetable is correct, then that presents some problems to the shooting schedule for Episode VII.
If the rumors that have managed to leak out are true, then Han Solo plays a significant part in the story of Episode VII and therefore has equally significant screen time as well. This presents the production with two difficult choices: change the release date of Episode VII and reschedule the shooting to accommodate Ford's recovery time or do a massive rewrite of the script to Episode VII to reduce the presence of Solo in the film. Either option, in truth, is not desirable right now for anyone involved.
The best choice is to delay the release of the film and move the production schedule to that effect. That would be the most logical choice by far. However, it is important to remember that this is a business decision first and foremost. Originally Disney wanted Episode VII to be released in May of next year.
However, Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy argued to have the release date moved to December of that same year to allow more time for the development of the screenplay for the film. Abrams and Kennedy won and the release date was changed. It was reported that shortly after that Robert Iger, president and CEO of Disney, got on a conference call with shareholders and assured them that the release date for the film would be December and that the film would be released in 2015.
It can assumed that Disney is desperate to keep the film on track for a 2015 release. The shareholders I am certain would get nervous about any scenario where the film is released in 2016 instead. Disney doesn't really have any films at the same level as far as popularity and profitability that they can plug into the spot that Episode VII currently occupies should the release of that latter film be changed. They could move Brad Bird's Tomorrowland to that date. But that film is an unknown quantity and certainly would not do Star Wars level business.
Predictably, there was a emergency level meeting at Pinewood Studios in England yesterday with the production and Disney to decide how they wanted to proceed. As of this writing there has been no announcement of a change in release date for Episode VII. Now that doesn't mean there will not be, it either hasn't been decided by everyone involved yet or finalized. I don't honestly know how they can keep with that a December release date with the amount of time it is being reported for Ford to fully recover. Sure you could film Ford in scenes where he is seated in the Falcon. But how many of those are in the film? You could use a stunt double for the action scenes and digitally put Ford's face on him? But that will balloon the budget and really doesn't work practically.
I know Disney may take a hit from the shareholders if they move the release date, but it truly is the best decision they could make for this film. You have too much invested in this to not be very careful and logical in how you proceed. They just signed on Rian Johnson to write and direct Episode VIII and have directors lined up for two stand alone films as well. Disney is deep in the Star Wars business and being so needs to make sure this opening film in their grand design is as good as it can possibly be. A massive rewrite is not the way you do that. You need to just move the date and give everyone the chance to get back on track. That is the only wise decision here.
Now of course we have not taken into account the schedules of the other actors in the film. Perhaps a delay will cause issues with the commitments they have made after Episode VII. That could be another whole level of problems the production has to consider when deciding to change the production schedule and release date. The hope is that those other commitments could be worked around and the cast they have now could remain in place. But nothing is certain there.
In the end, Harrison Ford's broken leg could cost Disney a great deal in many ways. But sometimes unexpected things happen and you just take it on the chin and move forward. Disney, of course, will be fine as they also have films from Marvel and Pixar coming out in 2015. But at the same time it is interesting to me to see how one broken leg can cause such upheaval and stress to a production. I am hoping cooler heads prevail here and the production is delayed so that Harrison Ford can return to the film in tip top shape. This is going to be an interesting few weeks with this production and I am hoping all can work out for the best for all involved. I want Episode VII to be good, that is all I care about right now as a fan.
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