Mystery Box Activate!

It looks like once again our good friend JJ Abrams is using his mystery box approach.  An approach that has been used to protect the secrets of terrible and sometimes mediocre films.  It has been used to keep us safe from the secret of John Harrison being...gasp...Khan and has protected us from seeing the alien design in Super 8 or the entire plot of Mission Impossible III.  Now it is being used to protect the secrets of Star Wars: Episode VII.  A film already shrouded in so much mystery that it needs no more.

This week Disney CEO Robert Iger revealed in an interview that principal photography has started on Episode VII and that the majority of the main characters have been cast.  Prior to Iger's comments it was believed that the casting was already done and that the film was going to start shooting mid May.  But there was nothing official from Disney on either of those points.  In fact, there has been very little information coming from Disney at all in relation to this project over the past few months.

I am sure this filming that Iger mentions is second unit stuff and not anything terribly important.  But the point here is that they are locking down information pretty tight, which is a telltale sign of the JJ Mystery Box.  It would be a safe bet that Disney is letting JJ engage in this behavior for reasons I don't honestly understand.  Especially considering that Kathleen Kennedy, the producer on the film, stated publicly some months back that they were not going to use JJ's Mystery Box technique when it came to Episode VII.  And yet here they are using it.


Now with that said, I don't really care one way or another how they choose to release information in regards to this film.  I just find it odd that they can't even reveal the cast of the film.  I mean surely they could tell us that Luke, Han, and Leia are coming back and that Hamill, Fisher, and Ford are all signed.  That really isn't a spoiler, is it?  I mean we know Episode VII will be set 30 years after Jedi and that Luke and company are a part of the story.  So telling us they are cast is not really revealing anything at all at this point.

I mean it could be that they plan to reveal the entire cast of Episode VII on Star Wars Day, which is May 4th.  That certainly has been an idea that has been floated on many a message board.  It could be true and in fact I am betting it is at this point simply because it makes the most sense.  If that is the case, I suppose it is okay to wait then.  If not, then I really have no idea the reasoning behind waiting to announce the cast.  I still suspect some Mystery Box action is at play here and there will be more of this sort of thing going on once production gets underway.

I hope it doesn't plan that way as I think this film, more than any before it, needs the goodwill of the fans.  I mean certainly the film will make large sums of money upon release, I mean it is Star Wars.  But will it endure and remain popular long after release? 

Now the answer to that question has more to do with the script and story of Episode VII as it does the marketing.  But I believe being open and making strategic reveals would go a long way to bring fans of Star Wars back to a place of excitement and not apathy.  As a fan, I can tell you I am there right now.  I know this is, at its heart, a pure profit or money motivated move by Disney.  That is a fact, but it is one that can be reduced by JJ and company giving the fans a peek into the production as it is going on.  Perhaps a production photo here or video journal there.  Take a page from Peter Jackson, show us the film in production.  Allow the fans to be in on the process, while also keeping the film's important points a secret.  It can be done and should be done in this case.

Creating a sense of community, participation, and nostalgia can bring Star Wars fans together and make Episode VII something special.  I believe it can be done and I also believe Star Wars can be special again.  All it takes is for JJ to throw his mystery box away and embrace being open with the fans.

As of right now I have little faith of that happening.  I think fans, like myself, should prepare for radio silence on this production until December of 2015.  Which truly is a shame.